


Battle of the Blades

by just_somebody_who_writes



Category: Figure Skating RPF
Genre: F/M, Fix-It, Future Fic, Mentioned Other Figure Skaters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-30
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:00:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 49,758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23925007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/just_somebody_who_writes/pseuds/just_somebody_who_writes
Summary: When Scott, newly returned from Florida, alone, agreed to take part in a new, better-than-before, edition of Battle of the Blades, the last thing he expects to find is himself at war with his former skating partner and her new hockey player boyfriend.
Relationships: Scott Moir/Tessa Virtue
Comments: 98
Kudos: 163





	1. 1. The Colossally Bad Idea

**Author's Note:**

> Please go with me on this - I know very little about ice hockey (or Battle of the Blades, to be honest) so all hockey players are fictional (maybe not entirely).  
> Also, assume the WHL is still running.

\-- Chapter One: The Colossaly Bad Idea --

Scott is convinced that this is a colossally bad idea. In fact, this has got to be one of the worst ideas he’s ever had, and he’s pretty sure he will never forgive Danny for pushing him into doing this.

For the first time in his life, he doesn’t want to skate. In fact, he’d rather be anywhere else than an ice rink right now. At home, the dentist, hell he would rather endure lunch with Meryl and Fedor than be here right now. 

Really it was all because Danny had overheard that damn phone call three weeks ago.

\---

Scott had been back from Florida for just over two months, for good this time, and alone. He was supposed to be finishing the Ilderton house, but in truth he hadn’t been doing much but annoying his parents with his restless energy and generally irritable mood (although, he should point out that he was a lot more sober than after Sochi, which no one seemed to be giving him enough credit for). Tired of him behaving like a child, his mother had shipped him off to stay with Danny in Calgary for a week. 

The change of scenery, and kids’ excitement to see their Uncle Scott, had helped, a little. He’d just gotten back inside after spending an hour chasing Danny’s kids around the garden and collapsed on the couch when he got the call. Puzzled by the unknown number, he’d answered and been pleasantly surprised (and a little confused) to hear Kurt Browning on the line. 

“Scott, how’re you doing?”

“I’m good,” the lie he’d been telling everyone slipped out easily enough. “Good to hear from you.”

“Listen, Scott,” Kurt skips straight to business. “We’re revamping Battle of the Blades this year. We’re going bigger than ever. We’re switching to current hockey stars and bigger arenas, harder lifts, its going to be great.”

“Okay,” Scott was trying to work out where Kurt was going with this. “Are you wanting us to judge again, because Kurt, Tess and I are not really …” he trailed off, not sure exactly how to describe their current (complete lack of) relationship, business, platonic or otherwise.

“Oh, no, no, no,” Kurt laughed slightly. “Scott, we want you as an ice dancer for the show. It’ll be great. We’ve got some great NHL and WHL stars and a host of Canadian and American skaters.”

“Huh,” Scott was not expecting that. And he wasn’t entirely sure how he felt about it either. He’d only ever skated with Tessa before, those small segments with other girls on tour didn’t count. “Kurt, I don’t know, I mean I haven’t really been skating.” Entirely true and he needed something to stall for time.

Kurt wasn’t done with his hard sell. “We’re upping the charity money, too. More than double last season, actually.”

Scott sighed, feeling his resolve weakening a little and wanting an out. “Can I have some time to get back to you? I’m not promising anything, but I’ll think about it.”

Kurt happily agreed to give him three days, checked his current email address to send through more details and then hung up, emphasizing his hopes that Scott would participate.

Scott would probably have forgotten the whole thing, would’ve brushed off any thoughts of skating (and particularly ex-partners) quite happily, but unfortunately Danny had walked in with a couple of beers as Scott was hanging up.

“Who was that?”

Scott debated not telling him, but he could never successfully lie to either of his brothers, so he didn’t bother trying.

“Kurt Browning.”

“Wants you back for more judging on BTOB?”

“No, actually. He wants me to skate in BTOB.”

“With Tessa, because I’m not sure she wants to skate with you.”

Scott rolled his eyes, not appreciating the reminder. “No. As a skater paired with a WHL player.”

Danny’s eyebrows lifted two inches. “Well that might be fun. Give you something to do anyway,” he added when Scott looked doubtful.

Scott rolled his eyes at the gentle jab. “I don’t know. I haven’t been skating for a while. I’m not sure I really want to.”

“Scott,” Danny said a little forcefully. “You haven’t been doing much of anything for a while. And I get it,” he continued, holding a hand up to stop Scott’s inevitable protest. 

“Things have been tough lately. But, man, you can’t spend all your time laying around, and annoying the heck out of everyone,” he added. “This is starting to feel a little like Sochi all over again.”

Scott stared at his brother for a long time, accidentally starting a staring contest he knew he would lose (Danny had three kids, he was used to staring someone into submission). Sighing in frustration when he knew his brother wasn’t going to give it up, Scott eventually whispered, “I’m not sure about skating without Tess.”

Danny’s glare immediately softened. “Well, it’s not exactly competitive skating, not in the same way anyway. And I don’t know fully what happened between you and Tutu but hiding out here isn’t going to fix that either.”

Scott opened his mouth to protest, but Danny silenced him with a knowing look.

“Honestly Scotty, if whatever broke between you two can be fixed, I think you’re going to need to be in a better place first. And you love the ice and maybe that’s what you need to get you out of this funk.”

Scott had refused to concede that argument, but Danny was nothing if not persistent. Eventually he had agreed to call Kurt just to shut his brother up. 

\---

And that was how Scott had landed up waiting to start filming Battle of the Blades, and absolutely dreading being on the ice for the first time in his life. 

The producers have secured the use of the Gadbois rink in the off season and today they’ve organized a meet and greet (filmed, of course) to introduce the skaters to their hockey partners. Scott already knew he was going to be skating with Lola Hayes, a forward for the Calgary Inferno. He’d seen her play in the final at PeyongChang when she’d been one of the youngest members of the team. She was quite small, but he remembered admiring how quick she was on the ice (he was not nearly as drunk as he’d looked at that game, thank you very much). 

He was actually cautiously looking forward to skating with her, aside from how strange he thinks it will be that she’s not Tessa. What’s giving him pause now is the thought of meeting up with the other skaters. He hasn’t spoken to many of his skating friends since he went back to Florida after Rock the Rink and he’s not sure who’s going to be here (or what they’ve heard from Tess). 

A knock to his car window startled him from his thoughts and he looks up to see Andrew and Kaitlyn waving at him through the window. They’re both wearing huge smiles, so he starts getting out the car thinking that maybe this won’t be so bad after all. 

“Scott, hi!” Kaitlyn practically shouts as he gets out the car, holding her arms wide. He smiles as he hugs her and then Andrew.

“Weaves, Poje,” Scott is feeling lighter already. “Great to see you.” 

“I can’t believe we’re doing this,” Kaitlyn’s getting louder by the second. “It’s going to be like 2017 Worlds all over again,” she bubbles happily.

“Except without the French,” Andrew smiles a little. “Or the Shibs,” he adds a little more sadly.

Only this time, Tessa’s not talking to me, Scott thinks to himself. 

“So, how’s Florida?” Andrew asks as the walk into the building. 

“Uh, I’m actually back in Ilderton,” Scott says quietly.

Andrew raises his eyebrows, and Kaitlyn clearly has questions, but they’re stopped from any further discussion by Zach Donohue bounding over.  
Scott’s grateful he’s saved from having to elaborate, but he could’ve done with someone other than Zach meeting up with them. He’s fun enough to be around (particularly after a few beers), but he has all the tact of brick wall and the sensitivity to match.

“Zach,” Kaitlyn sounds enthusiastic as she greets him with a hug and a smile, but Scott knows her well enough to know she’s wearing her media smile rather than a genuine one.

Zach, however, appears none the wiser and he happily shakes Andrew’s hand and slightly awkwardly hand-shakes-slash-shoulder-hugs Scott. Scott spends a few minutes chatting with his former training mate. While he doesn’t always agree with Zach’s style, he does occasionally enjoy his company. Sometimes the American reminds him a little of his younger (rasher, immature) self. Madison interrupts them before too long and she’s filled with the same bubbly enthusiasm as Kaitlyn. She and Zach have had their problems in the past, but they’re the picture of friendly banter as they gently rib each other now, attempting to settle terms for a bet on who’s going to last longer in the competition. Scott’s money’s on Madi, no doubt she’s the better of the pair, but he remains silent, content to rather watch the interaction than participate. Their easy repartee is a little hard to watch when the situation with his own partner is beyond complicated.

Piper and Paul join the group of skaters and its really starting to feel like something of a reunion. Scott can’t believe it’s been over two years since Pyeongchang, when he last saw most of them, bar Kaitlyn and Andrew. Sometimes it feels like yesterday they were standing on that podium, but right now, without Tessa tucked against his side, it feels like a decade. Most of the others are still competing, having seen each other just over a month ago at Worlds, but this is a relaxed competition, with only pride at stake, and it means everyone is smiling and joking around more than normal. 

Before too long, the skaters are called together by a production assistant. She’s young and petite but she corrals the boisterous group with an authority that has them all standing a little straighter and quietening down quickly as they shuffle towards the seats she’s indicated. Madison Chock has joined them, bringing them to a total of eight skaters and Scott finds he’s simultaneously disappointed and relieved when that tracks with the number of teams from previous seasons.

The production assistant, who introduces herself as Emily, announces that Kurt is joining them shortly for an introductory meeting, following which they will meet their hockey partners. It’s as she says this that Scott notices that Evan Bates has quietly joined the group, which causes him to go cold looking around the room. Eight other skaters, all teams or former teammates, and him. He’s never felt so alone in a room full of people all his life.

He isn’t left wondering for long, though. She walks in with Kurt only moments later, laughing at the other man in a way that is so quintessentially Tessa that it causes Scott’s heart to ache. She pats Kurt’s arm as she looks towards the seats, and Scott knows the moment she sees him, because all the light is instantly gone from her face, replaced instead by a look of steely determination. The way she deliberately avoids the open seat next to him and finds Kaitlyn instead may be the final blow his heart needs to shatter into pieces. There’s no fixing this now. And there is no doubt in Scott’s mind: Battle of the Blades is a colossally bad idea.


	2. 2. Introductions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone for the kudos and comments about the last chapter. It was wonderful to hear from you all!

\-- Chapter Two: Introductions --

Tessa sits next to Kaitlyn, her full attention on Kurt’s welcome speech, or almost her full attention. A small part of her is focusing on actively ignoring Scott. She knows he’s watching her; knows he’s desperate to talk, but she isn’t ready for that, so for now she’s just going to pretend he isn’t here. It takes a bit of effort, but she is nothing if not determined.

If she allows herself to be honest, she’s a little surprised he’s here. Not only did she think he was still in Florida, but he was always resolute about not skating with anyone but her. It might not be “real” skating, and it might be more-than-a-little hypocritical, considering she’s here herself, but it stings all the same. Besides, she only agreed to come after weeks of Kaitlyn pestering her and hearing how much money was being donated to charity (and maybe, mostly, because she thought Scott was still in Florida, but she won’t admit that to anyone). 

Tessa’s been keeping herself busy since they announced their retirement (and the tour ended, and she stopped talking to her best friend). Her degree is finally finished, and so are her MBA applications. She’s had speaking engagements and photoshoots and multiple collaborations, for clothes, makeup, jewelry and more. She’s been so busy that there’s been absolutely no time to think about how much she misses skating (or maybe more accurately, her skating partner). She’s not ready to address that yet, though. She’s still hurt by how it ended, and if she keeps herself busy, she doesn’t need to think about the things that have been missing from her calendar – a tenth anniversary skate (just for them, like he’d always said), performing at the opening ceremony in for Worlds in Montreal (that one she had noticed, having to swallow around a lump in her throat as she did commentary instead of performed), this year’s Stars on Ice tour. When someone was your other half for twenty-two years, it was always going to be hard to let go.

With a bit of distance, she’s come to accept that the catastrophic end to their relationship wasn’t his fault, at least not entirely; even though she’d told him it was. Truthfully, there are so, so many things she shouldn’t have said, so many things she wishes she could take back, so many things she would change. But she’s not ready to admit that yet, either. 

Somehow, Kurt is still talking fifteen minutes after he started his monologue and Tessa finds even she’s struggling to keep concentrating, despite her innate need to always be the perfect student. His mention of hockey players causes her mind to drift from Montreal to Toronto. To her own hockey player, who’s bed she’d slipped out of to leave for the airport this morning. The relationship had taken her by surprise. 

When she had posted on Instagram that she needed a plus one to the wedding (for which she still had not received an invitation, and probably wouldn’t, after how everything went down), it had been an attempt to show she was okay with it (she most definitely was not, but no-one but Jordan knew that). What she had not expected a response from Ricky Monroe, the Maple Leafs right winger, asking her for drinks. She definitely hadn’t expected herself to say yes but she was exceedingly glad she had and the last six months with him had been wonderful. He was a few years younger than her, but he was fun and he accepted her introverted need to stay in sometimes and he didn’t mind that she couldn’t cook anything besides poached eggs and for the first time, she could see a future with someone else. Whether she meant a future with anyone, or a future with someone other than the man sitting a few feet away from her (who she was struggling to continue to ignore), even she wasn’t sure. 

Blinking hard, as if to rid herself of distracting, and distressing, thoughts, she forced herself to concentrate on Kurt again. There were a lot of changes to Battle of the Blades this season, and if she wanted to win (which she really did now, which had absolutely nothing to do with Scott, of course), she wanted every piece of information she could get.

\--- 

Scott can’t help but think that Kurt Browning talks like someone who enjoys a captive audience. It’s been over fifteen minutes of discussion (read: lecture) on the new format (all updated, current players rather than retirees, no pairs skaters, only dancers) and updates (themed weeks are apparently very exciting) and rules (one week to choreograph a free program, until the final when its two dances, one couple voted off each week except the first, based on public votes) and it goes on. Scott will freely admit he’d stopped listening after the first few minutes and switched to trying to catch Tessa’s eye. She, to his absolute lack of surprise, is listening intently (he thinks she’s probably wishing she had one of her trusty books to take notes), and resolutely avoiding his gaze.

She knows he’s watching her, though, he’s absolutely sure of that, but the harder he stares at her, the more she refuses to look at him. Tessa Virtue is nothing if not stubborn; he knows that’s a large part of how they got their three gold medals, but right now, it’s starting to piss him off. 

He tries to keep concentrating on what Kurt is saying, but now he is talking about judging and Scott just can’t find it in himself to care, they’ve guest judged before anyway, so he knows all about how that works. 

Instead, he finds himself cataloguing all the ways Tessa looks different to the last time he saw her. It’s subtle (six months is not really a long time, even if it’s felt like an eternity), but he spent twenty-two years looking at her and he could describe her perfectly from memory. She still looks supremely fit, like she’s been working to stay in Olympic shape. Her face looks the same, too, although maybe a little harder set (probably because she’s working to ignore him). Her make up is a little darker, and it makes her eyes look even more green. Her hair, left loose and curling over her shoulders, is the biggest change. It’s a little longer than when he last saw her and it’s colored a few shades lighter, too, a mix between the almost black it was in PyeongChang and her natural auburn. He thinks this is meant to be a subtle reminder of their split - Marina had encouraged her to dye it dark to match his before Vancouver, and she’d kept it that way the rest of their career, he didn’t realize how much he loved that until now. 

Kurt finally stops talking, ending Scott’s musing, and hands over to a middle-aged blonde who introduces herself as Susan, the show’s director. She exudes enthusiasm and can’t stop emphasizing just how excited she is about the new show. Right now, Scott feels none of her enthusiasm. She’s just explained how they are going to film the partner introductions and he’s starting to feel a little nauseous. He’s still not happy about having to skate with someone else but now that the time has come, he’s almost positive he can’t do it with Tessa watching. 

Susan sends them to the locker rooms once she finishes her speech, telling them to get their skates on and be ready for the ice in fifteen minutes. Scott tries to stop Tessa on her way, but she shrugs off the hand he gently places on her elbow and gives him a look that says “not now” more clearly than any words ever could have. He watches her walk towards the women’s locker room for a moment, debating whether it’s worth risking her wrath to try again. Deciding he would not like to die today; Scott leaves her be and heads to the locker room. 

It’s a little strange, being back at Gadbois, the feeling as he drops his kit bag on the floor and starts extracting his skates something akin to de ja vu. The mood amongst the skaters is jovial, everyone sharing holiday stories and their hopes for the competition. Scott keeps to the periphery more than he ordinarily would, throwing in comments as required and a few good-natured jabs, managing to maintain a presence without attracting any unwanted questions. 

Zach is currently filling them in on his bet with Madi - whoever goes further in the competition gets to choose their exhibition piece for the season. Scott isn’t entirely sure Marie will approve if she’s going to choreograph, but apparently Madi already has her heart set on a Taylor Swift song (which has Zach pulling a face even as he says it). 

“I don’t know, Zach,” Andrew tells him, grimacing slightly at the thought. “I think you’re going to be pretty sick of Taylor Swift by the end of the season.”

“Ha, that’s only if she wins. I’ve been dying to skate to In the End for years and she keeps vetoing it.” Scott thinks he means the Linkin Park song, which causes him to frown. He likes the song, a lot, but he’s not sure about it for ice dancing. 

“You know you have to get onto the podium to perform the exhibition, right?” Evan joins the ribbing and somehow manages to duck the gentle punch Zach throws his way. One of two American teams won anything that the French didn’t this past season; there will almost definitely be podiums coming up for both teams. The two continue to bicker about it on their way out of the changeroom, though, Paul Poirier joining in with promises that he and Piper and going to give them a run for their money this year.

Andrew raises an eyebrow at Scott once its just the two of them left. “So, Ilderton?”

Scott sighs, he knew the questions would come eventually, but wanting to avoid it all the same. “It’s complicated.” 

“And Tess?”

Scott huffs a laugh. “Even more complicated.”

Andrew rolls his eyes, but he doesn’t press it further. They’ve been friends since Kitchner and Poje knows when to leave something be, and right now Scott is immensely grateful for that.

Scott gives his laces a final tug, satisfied they’re secure (they should be, since he’s taken twice as long as normal lacing them up). Accepting he can only stall for so long, he stands up and follows Andrew to the smaller of the two Gadbois ice rinks. People are dotted around, more crew members they will meet during filming, some with cameras already aimed at the ice. The few skaters have beat them out, are mostly already on the ice going through some warm-up routines. Scott looks for Tessa, hoping to talk to her, but he doesn’t see her on the ice yet. He’s about to step out onto the rink himself, happy to take a few laps to loosen up, when Emily finds him.

“Scott, Susan said we could start with you?” she phrases it as a question, but he’s done reality television before, Scott knows he doesn’t have a choice.

Hoping he looks less green than he feels, Scott nods. Emily chatters easily as she attaches a microphone to him and introduces him to the cameraman (Jim) and a guy with a boom mic (Jimmy). Emily laughs at her own joke when she says he can just call them Jim squared. They check his sound levels and then Emily points him towards the rink. Scott notices it’s a little busier now, more people on the ice and a couple of other people with cameras pointing at different pairs.

Scott takes a deep breath before he steps up to the boards. There’s no going back now, he thinks as he plasters on his own media smile (he knows that it doesn’t quite reach his eyes, but he’s hoping no-one will notice) and he removes his skate guards.

A blur of blonde hair and a Calgary Inferno hockey jersey comes barreling towards Scott as soon as he steps onto the ice. The woman, who Scott is going to assume is Lola Hayes, skids to a stop right in front of him before practically throwing herself onto him in a hug. Scott is glad for the lifetime he’s spent on the ice because, somehow, he manages not to fall. He’s still wondering how someone so small can generate quite so much force when she releases him, looking a little sheepish at her rambunctious greeting. 

“Hi, Scott Moir” she says once she’s taken a step back from him. “I’m Lola, Lola Hayes. And you’re Scott Moir. I’m skating with Scott Moir,” she’s talking faster than anyone Scott has ever heard. “And I might be a little excited to skate with you,” she adds, her cheeks pinking but she’s still smiling widely.

Scott smiles back at her, finding her enthusiasm infectious. “Well, I’m looking forward to skating with you too, Lola, Lola Hayes,” he says, and he’s surprised to find it’s not a lie for the camera. He is looking forward to skating with her.

They stare at each other a little awkwardly after that, both not sure what to say and very aware of the camera still focused on them. Eventually, after what seems like hours but is realistically only a few seconds, Scott starts to say, “I saw you skate in PyeongChang,” at the exact same moment that Lola says the same thing. They stare at each other for a few seconds before both bursting into fits of laughter. 

It takes them a minute to catch their breath, and even then, Lola is hanging onto Scotts shoulder to keep herself upright. Scott, never one to miss an opportunity to ham it up for the camera, smiles at her and says, “Lola, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship,” doing his best Humphrey Bogart impression.

It sends her into more fits of giggles, and she nearly causes them both to fall when her skates crash into his, but he smiles even broader when the production crew send them thumbs-ups and beaming smiles. 

“Sorry,” Lola says, still fighting for breath a few minutes later when Emily starts to retrieve the microphones to move onto the next pair. “About all the laughing, and the over-enthusiasm before. I may have had about six cups of coffee this morning and I haven’t managed to burn off the caffeine, or the nerves, yet.”

Scott smiles. “It’s all good. I’m sure they loved that for the show anyway.” He finds her admitting she’s nervous oddly calming.

“I really did see you skate in PyeongChang. Think you can teach me that back flip lift?” 

Scott feels his eyes nearly pop out of his head, and Lola laughs again. “I’m kidding. Don’t think my girlfriend would approve, anyway.”

“Oh.” Scott’s a little relieved, both that she’s not propositioning him (you’d be surprised how often he’s heard that one since the Olympics) and that she doesn’t want to try the lift - that was a signature Virtue-Moir lift, he’s not sure he wants to recreate it with someone else. “I saw you skate in the PC final too. You’re one of the fastest skaters I’ve ever seen.”

“I think the whole of Canada knows you were at that game. I’m surprised you can remember me, though.”

“It really was my first beer, and those calls were ridiculous,” Scott rolls his eyes when she doesn’t look totally convinced. “It’s all because of the tuque. I swear I’m never wearing one again.”

Lola looks at him like she doesn’t quite believe him, but she lets him have it, which he’s grateful for.

“So, Moir,” she says after a beat, “You going to show me what you’ve got? Cause I really want to win this thing,” she’s smiling at him mischievously. Scott looks at her for second, she’s in hockey skates and she’s about three inches shorter than Tessa, but he thinks they can make it work. And if he wants to win just as badly as her, well that’s a good thing, right?

“Alright, let’s do this,” he holds out his hand to her so they can start some laps around the rink. It feels different to holding Tessa’s hand, but it feels less terrifying than he’d thought, so maybe, just maybe, this won’t be the total disaster he was thinking it would. 

\---

Tessa watches the activity around the rink from the stands. She’s got her skates on and she’s ready, but she feels like she might throw up if she has to go out there now (and it has absolutely nothing to do with how comfortable Scott looks with his new partner). She hadn’t been looking for him (it’s just two decades worth of old habits to instinctively know where his is at all times). She doesn’t recgonise the woman he’s skating with, she’s a petite blonde but she’s matching him stroke for stroke, even in hockey skates, as they do big laps around the rink. Even from the stands, Tessa can hear them laughing at each other; they’re clearly enjoying each other’s company, and it most definitely does not make her feel jealous of how relaxed they look or how much fun they’re clearly having. This is just Scott being friendly, she chooses to believe. It’s something she’s always envied of him, actually, his ability to make friends so easily. She was always quieter, content to slowly warm up to people after letting Scott break the ice. 

She’s supposed to skate with John Tavares, the captain of the Maple Leafs. He’s a great hockey player and a nice guy. She’s met him a few times after Leafs games and at social gatherings with Ricky, and she’s relieved she isn’t going to have to skate with someone she’s just meeting for the first time. The familiarity doesn’t really calm her nerves, though and she has to take a few steadying breaths when Emily calls her down to the rink.

It’s not Tavares she sees when she gets there, though. Confusion floods through her, as she recognizes the man on the ice instantly, the name printed across his Maple Leafs jersey entirely unnecessary for her. 

“Ricky?” her voice is a mix of disbelief and awe. The last person she expected to see skating towards her was the boyfriend she had kissed goodbye in Toronto this morning.

“Tess!” he practically yells, sliding to a stop and wrapping his arms around her, lifting her a few inches off the ice as he hugs her.

She returns the hug automatically, momentarily forgetting the cameras on her in her relief at seeing him.

“What are you doing here?” she eventually manages to mumble out, her lips pressed close to his chest.

“The docs were worried about Tavares aggravating his knee. So, I convinced them to let me step in,” he’s beaming at her. For the first time today, she feels a little excited herself. “I’m hoping you’re happy with the substitution?”

“Yeah,” Tessa says, smiling back at him, almost as wide. “I can’t believe you kept this a secret, though,” she adds, poking him in the ribs perhaps a little harder than necessary (but he of all people should know she’s been stressing over this). 

Ricky finally puts her back on the ice, and she spins on the ice to stand next to him. Emily and camera crew look ecstatic to have caught her surprise on film. He’s still looking at her with a dopey grin after they crew have moved to the next pair a few minutes later. He’s clearly proud of himself for successfully surprising her, and now that she’s over her initial shock, she’s actually quite touched.

“I had to keep it a secret,” he explains quietly, pulling her close again now that the cameras are gone and it’s just the two of them. “Couldn’t have anyone accusing us of cheating by having the unfair advantage since we’re already paired up.” 

He smirks as he says this, she can hear it in his voice, but it’s someone behind him that catches her attention. Scott has stopped skating midway through the step sequence he’s showing Lola. He’s watching her, the look on his face one of utter devastation as he clearly recognizes who she’s with. 

\---

After a bit of cajoling on her part, Scott agrees to demonstrate the rhumba step sequence from PyeongChang for Lola. They’ve been having fun together, skating around the rink and getting to know each other a bit. She talks more (and faster) than anyone he’s ever met, but she has a childlike enthusiasm about her that is undeniably infectious. He thinks it might be because she’s ten years younger than him and everything about her screams youth and energy (in a way that makes him feel all of his thirty-two years). He’s pleased to discover he was right about how fast she is, and she’s incredibly graceful, even on her hockey skates. He can’t wait to see what she can do with figure skates, especially since she’s been insisting that she can handle the toe picks just fine. He’d raised an eyebrow when she’d said that the first time, but she’d punched him on the shoulder (less gently than he’d have liked) and told him she’d figure skated until high school and then not hesitated to bet she could out jump him (he wouldn’t be surprised; getting off the ice was never his greatest skill). With her enthusiasm and skating skills, he’s starting to think they may actually have a shot at winning this thing.

It takes him all of two seconds to realize Tessa is on the ice. It’s like even now, estranged as they are, he has a sixth sense that is dedicated entirely to her. It takes him significantly longer than it should to recognize the man she’s paired with, though, but when he does, he stops so quickly he nearly trips over his toe picks himself.

As he stands there, unable look away from the scene unfolding before him, Scott realizes he was wrong earlier. This is the moment his heart truly shatters.


	3. 3. The Goose Offensive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you once again for all the encouragement, the response to this story has been amazing (and highly motivating). I'm really enjoying bringing this story to life - sorry it's taken so long to post this update, I've been a bit trapped by real-life obligations and also struggling to get this chapter out how I want it!

“Scott,” Tessa calls after him as he’s crossing the parking lot.

He ignores her and continues to his SUV, throwing his kit bag into the boot with a force he would never normally subject his skates to.

“Scott,” she’s closer to him, and now that she doesn’t need to yell, she can clearly hear the plea behind the word. “Scott, just talk to me, please.” She sounds whiny, even to herself, but she doesn’t care.

He slams the trunk shut before turning towards her and she feels momentary triumph, until she sees the hard look to his eyes and how tight his jaw is clenched.

“Really, Tess? Now you want to talk?” It’s the closest he’s been to yelling at her, probably ever. “It’s been six fucking months Tessa and now you want to talk?” 

He stares at her for a long moment, perhaps trying to decide what to say, she’s not sure and she doesn’t know if she’s ever had less of a clue as to what he’s thinking. 

“You don’t get to dictate when we talk, Tess,” his voice is softer, more controlled, but the quiet pain behind the words wounds her more than yelling ever could. He stares at her for a few more seconds before he turns and climbs into the car. He’s reversing out of the parking space before she even has a chance to try and stop him. 

\- - - 

Twenty-four hours later, Scott has recovered a little from his shock of seeing Tessa and Ricky together. He knew about the Maple Leaf she’d been dating, of course (why did she have to pick a hockey player?). Even if both his brothers hadn’t felt the need to gently inform him about Tessa’s new boyfriend, they’d been all over Instagram (and he’s neither above social media stalking his former best friend nor anywhere close to as technologically inept as he likes to imply). All the same, it had taken him by surprise to see them together yesterday. Somehow, the thought of her partner for the show being her, well, partner, never occurred to him. And as much as he loathed to admit it, it had stirred up a lot of feelings he was decidedly not emotionally prepared to deal with. 

Before watching Ricky fucking Monroe twirl his partner around on the ice, Scott had genuinely been hoping the show could provide some sort of reconciliation with Tessa. He knew it was unrealistic to expect a return to anything near their former relationship (as much as he hated the ambiguity of that term), but he had hoped they could at least be friendly towards each other. The sudden appearance of her boyfriend, however, had erased all thoughts of reunion and instead replaced his earlier depression with prickling anger. 

Fortunately, he’s been able to avoid her so far today. Kurt had outlined the program and rules in his monologue yesterday (and then re-iterated it in an email this morning). For most of the week, they’ll be left alone to introduce their new partners to figure skating and choreograph their routines (which should include at least one lift, a step sequence, and a spin). Luckily, the producers have secured a few well-known choreographers to assist them, including David Wilson, Jeffrey Buttle and Marie-France (who happily agreed to start working with him and Lola tomorrow). Kurt is choreographing a big group number to start the show, but they’ll only have to practice that the day before, so Scott is hoping that means he can keep avoiding Tessa until then.

This morning, Lola had met Scott at the rink with coffee, a wide smile, and about a million ideas for a first dance. He had managed to distract her by suggesting they start with the basics, like skating with toe picks and learning a few basic dance holds before they deep dive into songs and routines. She had conceded with characteristic enthusiasm and had proceeded to spend their entire “lesson” babbling nonstop. 

He’s surprised to find how much he’s enjoying being back on the ice. After months away, it feels a lot like coming home. He’s also a little surprised at how much fun he’s having with Lola. She’s (very) loud in her enthusiasm and bubbly and about as competitive as he is (that’s athletes for you, he guesses) which means that she’s also taking the skating very seriously, which he appreciates. He’s pleased to discover that she hadn’t been lying about being able to figure skate, and she only trips over her toe picks a couple of times. By the end of their first hour on the ice, she’s skating easily as well as some juniors he’s seen at national level competitions (and if she can actually land a double axel way cleaner than he can, well, no-one else needs to about the competition he lost – even if it now means she has complete control over their costumes for the week).

As much as he’s been enjoying himself, it had taken a little while to get used to skating with her. She’s shorter than Tessa, which had meant a slight adjustment in stroke length. And her hand feels different in his – smaller and the grip not quite right. It had also taken a little while to build up to trying a basic lift, but she’s a quick study and apparently game for anything. By the end of the session they’ve laughed their way through a lot of the basic dance holds and step sequences, and she’s desperate to try some more advanced lifts and spins. With just over a week to the premier, Scott thinks things are looking good. 

They’re both grabbing a drink of water after they’ve made their way off the ice when Lola casually asks, “So, what’s the deal with you and Tessa?”

They’ve spent the last hour talking, and Scott has been relieved that Tess hadn’t been mentioned once, so the shock of Lola brining her up now almost has him choking on his mouthful of water. Over a minute later, when it feels like he’s coughed up half his lung, he turns to her. He opens and closes his mouth a few times, in a good impression of a goldfish, trying to work out how to answer that, before settling on playing dumb. “What do you mean?”

Lola stares at him with raised eyebrows. Clearly playing dumb isn’t going to work. 

“We used to be partners,” he’s hoping he pulls off nonchalant, although his palms are starting to sweat. “We won a bunch of medals. Then we retired last year.”

Lola narrows her eyes, their light blue piercing into him. “Uh-huh?”

Scott shrugs at her. That is the (totally abridged and over simplified) truth. 

“And you ran out of here yesterday, like Scooby-Doo being chased by a monster after you saw her for no reason?” she blinks at him, waiting for an answer.

Scott sighs. He really doesn’t want to talk about it. He’s not entirely sure he can.

Lola continues to stare at him for another minute, but her expression softens as she sees his discomfort. “It’s okay,” she says quietly. “You don’t have to tell me.”

A part of Scott wants to tell her that she’s right, he doesn’t, and she shouldn’t have asked. But he’s enjoying having someone to talk to that isn’t annoyed at him, so he doesn’t snark at her and just shrugs slightly instead. 

They’re quiet as they head away from the rink, but as she turns into the women’s changeroom, Lola turns to him, a wide smile on her face. “I suppose I’ll just have to guess, then.”

\- - - 

Three hours after Scott and Lola finish their first practice, Tessa is watching Ricky skate with toe picks for the first time and she finds herself wondering what on earth possessed her to agree to this stupid show. Her boyfriend is a decorated hockey player and widely recognized as one of the fastest, most agile wingers currently in the NHL, possibly of all time. This, however, most definitely does not translate into any sort of ability to dance on ice, or even stay upright in figure skates. She stopped counting after the fourth time he landed on his stomach after forgetting a toe pick (she’s starting to feel like she’s in The Cutting Edge). To be fair, the only person Tessa has ever seen transition seamlessly between toe picks and hockey skates and back again every time is Scott, but the sheer number of times Ricky has fallen is doing nothing to convince her they will be able to skate any sort of program in just over a week. As someone who’s fiercely competitive, and a bit of a perfectionist (and used to having the best partner in the world, her traitorous brain supplies), it’s making her a little nervous.

While watching Ricky make another (terrible) go at something resembling a step sequence, Tessa finds her mind unconsciously drifting back to Scott. His brusque exit from Gadbois the day before has been playing on loop in her head ever since he hightailed it out of the parking lot, tires practically screeching in his haste. She’s beyond angry at his refusal to talk, although if she was forced to be honest, that might be mostly because it made her feel guilty that she hadn’t spoken to him earlier. She’s also a little angry at Ricky, he’s complicated an already messed up situation with Scott – she should have warned him about who she was skating with, but she really had thought it would be Tavares (and Scott would have loved that). As it happened, she had seen how he had suddenly frozen on the ice as Ricky twirled her around; that hurt look on his face was all she could see every time she had closed her eyes. She’d hardly slept all night and now she was beyond tired and the three cups of coffee she’s already had have just served to make her more anxious. She wishes she’d spoken to him when he’d tried yesterday, but she still didn’t know if either of them had anything different to say. 

Ricky calling out to her jolts her attention back to the present. He’s managed a full length of the rink without tripping, and he’s smiling so brightly that it settles her a little. As she skates over to him, she’s reminded of how wonderful the last six months have been with this man, and she thinks about how maybe if she can just focus on the good, the rest will work itself out.

\- - -

For this week, Scott and Lola are sharing ice time with Madison Hubbell and Charlie MacMillan and so far, it’s been working well (there is the added bonus of Tessa having to share the ice with Zach Donohue, and Scott knows just how much the American has annoyed her since they were all still in Canton, but he only gets a small amount of satisfaction over that). 

Scott likes training with Madi, they spent a lot of time sharing the ice during the comeback and they quickly fall into a pattern of advising each other on choreography and passing coaching tips back and forth. Charlie MacMillan (who the entire world knows as Mac, thank goodness, because Scott already has way too many Charlies in his life) is also a good guy to hang out with – even if he plays for the Senators (not that Scott is particularly fond of all the Leafs at the moment, but that’s a separate issue). 

Currently, Scott is sitting on the boards, Madi leaning against them next to him, as they watch Lola and Mac practice some step sequences. They both smile as Mac trips, again, midway through and Scott finds himself exceedingly grateful to have been partnered with Lola, who’s skating like she was born with figure skates on.

“She’s good,” Madi observes next to him. 

“Yeah,” Scott agrees. “I got lucky there.”

“Ah, but you’re a good teacher, too, you would have made it work with someone else,” a familiar voice says from behind them. Scott jumps down and turns to find Marie-France smiling at them. He hugs her enthusiastically despite the boards between them. He’s missed both her and Patch and the mentor role they’ve played in his life a lot these past few months. “It’s so good to see you again. I didn’t know you if you were still in Tampa.”

“I’m in Ilderton, actually,” Scott says, hoping he won’t have to go into details.

Both women look a little surprised (or maybe not surprised enough), but fortunately they leave it alone. 

“Still, it’s wonderful to have you back,” Marie says, patting his arm.

Madi smiles, “Like old times,” she adds.

Both Scott and Marie look out at the blonde woman on the ice who is skating towards them. “Almost,” they both say at the same time. 

\- - -

Tessa’s first reaction when Ricky suggested including that particular lift in their routine, last night as they were getting ready for bed, was a hard no. There’s too much history behind the move and way too many unresolved feelings it may bring to the surface. He had dropped it, looking a little like a puppy that was forced to give up a stolen toy, and she tried to distract him by describing a different lift for them to try instead. Something a little easier to start with, she’d explained.

Now, a day later, he’s suggesting it again. They’ve been on the ice for an hour, practicing their routine, and when Tessa insists they stop for a water break, he causally brings it up again. She shuts him down, again, but he pushes a little further this time. He even goes so far as to demonstrate the slightly shaky crouch he’s been practicing especially for this.

She distracts him, again, this time demonstrating the other lift. It really is an easier lift, and she can tell he enjoys how she clings to him as he lifts her this way. She kisses him hard after he returns her to the ice to punctuate her argument and hopes that’s enough to end the discussion. It seems to work, when the drops the idea and they continue to work on the routine. 

\- - - 

The first week of rehearsals with Lola has gone at least as well as can be expected, Scott thinks the day before the first show. She’s been fun to work with, and game for all his suggestions, quickly mastering some fairly complicated lifts and moving through basic step sequences with ease. 

Scott’s pretty happy with their program, too. They’d been given free reign for the first week, hoping to allow everyone to ease into the process, so Scott had chosen a Tragically Hip song (yeah, maybe he’s predictable, but Canada will like it). Lola had argued non-stop and told him they needed something more upbeat for the first week. Eventually, Marie-France had backed her up too (traitor!), so instead of the Hip, Scott finds himself listening to Walk the Moon for the seven hundredth time, the chorus of Shut Up and Dance burned into his brain forever. He likes the song, everyone does (Lola’s main point about using it), and the routine is cute (Marie, even if she betrayed him, is a genius and her suggestions have all been great) and it will definitely appeal to the crowd. 

Perhaps the best part of his week is that he hasn’t had to deal with Tessa once, and he’s almost managed to pretend she isn’t even competing (if he still thinks about what she would say every time he suggests something new to try to Lola, he isn’t going to tell anyone). 

Lola hasn’t totally let him forget about Tessa either. It turns out her resolve to guess what happened between them has only strengthened over the week. The scenarios she’s managed to suggest have gotten more and more ridiculous as the week goes, too. It had started simply enough with Lola suggesting a disagreement about song music (they may have been arguing about their own number at the time) that caused them to retire. She’s gotten more creative, though, and so far, he’s heard threats from Russian mafia (maybe the French federation would be more likely), that they are actually spies and the skating was a cover and even alien abductions (apparently Lola’s been watching Roswell in their downtime). 

He’s pretty sure she’s given up on the truth and it just trying to get a laugh out of him, now. Although, this morning she manages to shock him quite well.

“It’s because of your secret love child,” she says to him as they’re stepping off the ice after practice. 

“What?” Scott is sure he looks like a cartoon with his eyes popping out of his head. 

“Your secret love child,” she says this like he should totally know what she’s talking about. “The one you and Tessa had after Sochi and have been hiding from the public. That’s why you aren’t talking. You’re in the middle of a custody battle.” She manages to say this all with a straight face, like she might almost believe it.

“Where do you come up with this stuff?”

“The internet,” Scott nearly chokes on air when he realizes she’s being dead serious. “You’d be amazed what people have theorized about the two of you.”

“People,” Scott says slowly, to ensure she realizes she is included in this, “need to find better things to do with their time.”

Lola smiles and shrugs. “Most people are betting it’s a girl.”

Scott shakes his head, walking halfway towards the changeroom before a terrible thought occurs to him. “Just please tell me they don’t think she’s called ‘Tallulah’?”

Lola stares at him for a few seconds before she seems to realize he’s not admitting to having a kid and they both dissolve into fits of laughter. 

\- - -

The third time Ricky asks her, during their third-to-last on-ice practice, it’s earnestly. Like he simultaneously wants to understand her hesitation and is terrified by it. When she shuts him down again, he asks her if it’s because she doesn’t trust him and then she caves quickly, panic rising in her chest at how close he’s getting to her true feelings. She will never trust anyone on ice like she trusted Scott; you cannot erase twenty-two years no matter how hard you try. But Tessa has spent the last six months avoiding his questions about how far that extended beyond the ice, and she wants to keep avoiding that conversation as long as she can. 

So, against her better judgement, they incorporate it into the routine, as the pièce de résistance at the end. It’s a little shaky to start, her climbing onto his thigh causing him to nearly overbalance a few times, but after what seems like hours of practice, eventually they can hold it well enough for her to let go of his hand. 

She’s done this lift over a hundred times since 2009, but for the first time, it doesn’t feel like flying to her. It feels more like the downward spiral that comes before a crash, and each time her blades return to the ice after she dismounts, she lets out a quiet sigh of relief.

But then Ricky smiles at her with such delight in his eyes each time they practice it that she finds herself slowly smiling back, his enthusiasm contagious, and she ignores the warning bells that are blaring in her brain. 

\- - -

The first live show arrives quickly and now with ten minutes until their skate, Scott is sitting backstage in a small holding area behind the rink. The opening number had gone off well enough (well, well enough with twenty people on the ice trying hard not to get in each other’s way) and the crowd was lively and excited. Fortunately, Lola had not abused her powers after winning their jumping competition and he’s relatively plainly dressed in skating pants and a black button up and tie (Lola has the backless dress the song describes so it’s all very pop rock, but it works). 

Scott can vaguely hear Madi and Mac’s music from where they’re waiting. He’s loathe to admit it, but he’s a little nervous. He knows people have described him as a “once-in-a-generation” talent for petty much his entire career, but what they forgot is he only ever looked that good because Tessa was by his side. They pushed each other, and worked for each other, in a way that was truly unique, and he feels a little nauseated at having to skate without her. Mixing with the nerves are a few tweaks of excitement, though. Scott is proud of what Lola’s accomplished in a week and he always enjoys the energy that comes from skating for a crowd. It doesn’t hurt either that no-one goes home after the first week.

While he’s spent the last few minutes using quiet introspection help him contain his nerves, Lola has been pacing back and forth enough that he’s starting to think she’s going to wear a hole in the floor. She’s muttering under her breath, something that sounds like the steps to their program, but, uncharacteristically, she’s way too quiet for Scott to hear. On her twentieth trip across the backstage area, just after the music stops and Scot hears the announcer ask the judges for their opinions, he stands and stops her. 

“You okay?”

“Yeah,” It sounds more like a question than a statement though. “I’m kind of nervous, now that it’s time,” she admits after a moment. “I’m not used to skating in a dress, or tights or make-up, or being judged.”

Scott understands that (well, the last part particularly). He pulls her close to his side, a definite hug but nothing like he and Tessa did before their performances. Even with how easy it’s been to skate with Lola this week, that would feel a little too weird. Lola rests her head against his chest for a moment and he can feel her relax a little. 

“We got this, right?”

“Yeah, it’s going to be great.”

Three minutes later when Scott hears his name announced after one that is not Virtue for the first time in over two decades, he’s not so sure. He doesn’t have time to dwell on it, though, because before he can think about it, Lola is squeezing his hand and leading them down the tunnel and onto the ice. 

\- - -

Tessa is nervous before they take the ice for their program. It’s not that she thinks they can do much more work on their dance, and Ricky really has come a long way over the last week, and it’s definitely not that she doesn’t trust him to look out for her during the lifts, but she’s still a little on edge all the same. 

Of course, they have to dance right after Scott and Lola. She’s convinced someone scheduled that on purpose, just to torture her before she steps out onto the ice. 

As she watches him skate with Lola, she feels something pull deep in her chest. It’s not jealousy, per say, she thinks (or tries to convince herself), more a longing or maybe a stirring of memories she’d rather not dredge up right now. It’s not flawless, obviously, because they’ve only been skating together for a week, and Lola almost overbalances on the spin, but Scott catches her (because that’s what he does) and the program is fun and upbeat and clearly the crowd is loving it. She watches him lift Lola, twirling her around his shoulders and it seems just as effortless as he always made it with her, and Tessa is forced to consider if she really is a little jealous after all. 

They finish on their knees, facing each other, their smiles wide. Scott stands up and pulls Lola into his chest, hugging her tight to him as he clearly praises her effort. It’s that second that it hits Tessa, why she’s so uneasy. She hasn’t performed without their hug in almost a decade, and it’s unsettling. 

\- - -

Scott is pumped when they finish their program. With only a weeks training, Lola had skated like a champion. They had skated clean and the crowd had loved the program. When Lola had whispered “I told you so,” as he pulled back to standing at the end, he’d had to laugh and conceded happily. The judges had been impressed as well, with minor suggestions and massive scores for the first week (if only they had been judging Grand Prix finals every year) and for the first time in what feels like months, Scott is truly happy.

Unfortunately, his happiness doesn’t last long. While Scott had managed to avoid Tessa and Ricky for the entire week’s practices (and he deserves a medal for his evasion skills during practice for the group number), he doesn’t manage to avoid watching them skate during the show. He’s never been able to take his eyes off her when she’s on the ice; Tessa skating, all long lines and grace; is like a drug to him. It pulls him in at first glance, and like an addict, he’s hooked – he doesn’t even try and look away. Tonight, is no exception, she is fluid beauty as she skates, and Scott barely even notices the man skating with her. 

That is, until they get to the end of the program (it’s Pride and Prejudice, because Tessa is totally predictable). Ricky is already in a crouch, Tessa stepping onto his thigh before Scott actually computes what’s happening, and then it seems to play out in slow motion. They wobble a little, as she lets go of his hand once she’s settled, but she spreads her arms to create the impression of flying and Scott feels like someone has stabbed a knife between his ribs and twisted it. It’s a little wobbly, but the effect is there. It is, undoubtably, ‘The Goose’.

The twisting in his chest intensifies and he finds he can’t breathe. Their signature lift. Their Olympic-winning signature lift. The lift they invented; that’s named for them; that is fucking synonymous with Virtue and Moir. He feels cold dread and despair rush through him as he watches. He should look away, but he can’t. 

It’s not despair he feels, however, once Tessa elegantly jumps back onto the ice. It’s anger. Rage, maybe. A fire lit in his blood and their quiet battle has evolved into a full-on war with Tessa’s well aimed first shot. And suddenly its it’s not reconciliation he’s looking for anymore. 

Be careful what you wish for, Virtch, he thinks to himself. If it’s a war you’re wanting, you're going to get it.


	4. 4. Retaliation

# \- - Chapter Four: Retaliation - -

Scott Moir wears his heart on his sleeve. Anyone who has ever met him can speak to his effervescent personality, and most who know him a bit better, his occasionally explosive temper. His feelings are almost never hidden – be it happiness, boredom, anger, or anything in between (except nerves, he always hides those well). However, the people that know him exceptionally well (which is really his family and Tessa, and maybe their coaches) know that when Scott feels too intensely, rather than project those feelings to the world, he turns them inward instead. When Scott becomes too emotional, he also becomes entirely shuttered.

It is this Scott, the one who is stoic and entirely shut off from the world, who Tessa meets as she exits the tunnel.

Ricky is chattering excitedly next to her, adrenaline combined with praise from the judges causing him to literally bounce up and down on his skates as he walks. Initially, Tessa shared his enthusiasm, the rush of performing well leaving her on a high, but one look at her former partner and she crashes back to earth. Hard.

She’s seen this look on his face only a handful of times, and only three times before has it been directed at her. The first time was in 2008, when she finally admitted how much her legs were bothering her (and how she had hidden it from him for months). The second was after Sochi, when she said she needed a break. The most recent was just six months ago when she quietly told him she wanted out.

The enormity of what she just did hits her like a tidal wave. It takes one look at his blank eyes for her to feel tears start to well in her own. She stops just short of him, panic and remorse replacing her earlier happiness instantly. She knew when she agreed to ‘The Goose’ Scott wouldn’t like it; she just didn’t realize he still cared as much as he clearly did.

She stands in front of him, desperately trying to find something to say, anything that will convey how sorry she is. How much she regrets it. How much she didn’t want to hurt him. But she comes up short. There’s nothing to say and she thinks she’s broken them beyond fixing now.

Next to her, Ricky is reliving their triumph, apparently oblivious to the train wreck that is happening right in front of him.

“Did you see that?” he sounds like a kid who’s returned from meeting Santa Claus.

“Yeah. We did,” that’s Lola, sounding entirely unimpressed. She’s standing next to Scott, her arms folded across her chest. She looks like she’s trying to decide if she should kill Tessa or Ricky first. Tessa mirthlessly thinks she should volunteer. 

Tessa reaches her hand out to Scott, but he flinches away from her as though she’s burned him.

The movement seems to jolt him back to life, though, because suddenly the blank look in his eyes is replaced by pure hatred. “I’m done with this,” it’s barely above a whisper but it may as well be a megaphone in Tessa’s ear.

Scott turns quickly, his skate guards clicking on the floor as he heads for the changerooms. Lola tries to stop him, her hand at his shoulder, but he shrugs her off and walks faster. “This doesn’t concern you, Lola.” It sounds more like a growl and Lola looks a little like he slapped her before she changes course to head to the women’s changeroom.

Tessa is left staring after them. There are a few other skaters around, all of whom look utterly shocked at what just happened. Ricky has abruptly quietened down, somewhat sobered by the scene that just played out in front of him. Tessa is really wishing a hole would open in the floor and consume her.

Trying to keep from crying, Tessa shrugs out from under Ricky’s arm and heads to the changeroom herself. She clearly didn’t think it through, because Lola is still there, unlacing her skates. Her eyes are a little wet and Madison Hubbell is sitting next to her, seemingly trying to help.

“I can’t believe you did that,” Madi directs her comment to Tessa, and it’s not a compliment.

Now that it’s done, Tessa can’t quite believe it either.

\- - -

Scott has never been happier that Danny lives in Calgary. Ordinarily, he enjoys his oldest brother’s company. Right now, he thinks if he saw him, he might just kill him. Or at the very least deck him. The rational part of his brain keeps trying to point out that nothing that happened tonight is in any way Danny’s fault. However, the larger, angry part of his brain (which is currently being cheered on by four fingers of very expensive bourbon) is reminding him that if Danny hadn’t forced him into doing this stupid show, none of this would be happening.

It’s that angry part of his brain that’s telling him to keep ignoring his brother right now. His phone’s been ringing seemingly non-stop for the last half an hour. And he’s been resolutely ignoring Danny and focusing instead on his bourbon and anger.

When his phone goes silent for ten minutes, Scott allows himself a little time to gloat at being more stubborn than his brother. It doesn’t last long - he’s barely downed another two fingers of bourbon and the stupid device rings again. He is a little surprised to see that it’s his mother this time, though, not Danny, but that still doesn’t give him cause to answer it.

When his mother calls for the third time in a row, Scott answers the phone out of fear she will call Marie or Patch or Andrew (or, god-forbid, Tess) to ensure he’s still alive.

“Hey, Scotty,” she says quietly when he answers, and the tone is gentle enough that it almost brings him to tears. It’s one thing knowing you’ve been hurt, it’s another knowing everyone else knows it too.

“Hey Ma,” he’s trying to sound normal, but he’s not sure he’s pulling it off.

“Danny said he tried to call you,” it’s partly chastising, mostly concerned.

“Yeah, I was in the shower,” Scott doesn’t think he sounds convincing at all, but his mother lets it go.

“We saw your show tonight. You and Lola were great.”

Scott almost finds the energy to smile at that. “Thanks, Mom.”

His mother spends the next five minutes recapping her thoughts on the show, and prying information out of Scott about skating with Lola. Eventually she must get tired of his one-word-answers, though, because she brings out the big guns.

“Scotty, are you at least happier now that you’re on the ice again?”

When Scott doesn’t answer, she sighs loudly.

“I know you’ve been struggling these past few months. And I don’t know what happened between you two, but we know how much you love that girl, Scotty,” his mother says down the phone. Scott is a little shocked, his mother hasn’t mentioned his (ex-)fiancé in a positive light since he moved back to Ilderton. It makes more sense when she adds, “I’m sure you and Tess will work it out.”

Right, of course she was talking about Tessa. Scott sighs. “Yeah,” it’s more a question than a statement, though.

There’s not much more to say, or at least there’s nothing he wants to get into, so Scott begs off the call, under the pretense of returning Danny’s millions of messages.

His mother’s gentle reminder that they love him as she hangs up is almost enough to break him. Scott distracts himself instead by shooting Danny a text (which basically tells him to sod off), and then pulls up his Battle of the Blades contract. He starts reading the legal mumbo-jumbo again, hoping he can find a way out of the show.

\- - -

Tessa was generally credited as being the brains behind their team. However, as content as he is being the heart of the team, it is a not-so-closely guarded secret that Scott Moir has always been one hell of a tactician. So, after confirming that he is contractually obligated to continue with BOTB unless he wants to get a lawyer involved (the best one he knows is Jordan, so that’s a big “no”) or fake an injury (Charlie yelled so much at him for suggesting that that he almost decided to go back to asking Danny for advice) Scott starts on his plan for vengeance instead of retreat.

It’s not easy to top Tessa’s offensive with The Goose, but Scott settles for a two-pronged attack. The ultimate goal is simple: beat Tessa and Ricky at this stupid show. Fortunately for him, Lola’s got the skills and the competitive drive for them to achieve that (and Ricky skates like he doesn’t know where his feet are). The second, more immediate part of the plan perhaps is even simpler – piss Tessa off as much as possible until they beat her.

Luckily, two decades of life with Tessa has left him with plenty of ideas on exactly how to push her buttons. It’s just fortuitous, really, that Kurt’s email declaring week two all about duos plays right into his hands.

“I know what we’re going to skate to,” is the first thing Scott says to Lola when she finds him already on the ice at the start of the first morning practice for week two. He’d been on the ice for an hour already, choreographing the basics of a routine (hoping he could convince Lola to go along with his plan).

Lola ignores his statement and stares at him from the boards. “I didn’t know if I was going to see you here,” she says after a moment.

Scott feels his cheeks heat up despite the cool air in the rink. “Sorry,” he says as he glides to a stop in front of her. “I shouldn’t have run out on you last night. Or said what I did. I know you were trying to help.”

Lola looks at him for a long moment, and Scott feels like she’s trying to gauge how genuine he’s being. Knowing Lola, she will probably leverage her forgiveness for information about him and Tessa.

“I know how I can make it up to you, though.”

“Yeah?”

“By making sure we win this thing,” his smile is the biggest it’s been since the show started, and maybe a little cocky. “Let’s just say I have some added inspiration to get that trophy.”

“Besides, Battle of the Blades Champion is the one title you’re missing,” Lola says with a smirk.

“That too. And I have a plan.”

“This week’s song?” She sounds a little skeptical.

“Yip. Starting with this week’s song.”

“Well?”

Scott pulls his phone out and presses play on iTunes. He watches a small frown cross Lola’s face as she clearly recognizes the first verse of _You Make My Dreams Come True_.

“That’s Hall and Oats,” she says, her eyes narrowing a little.

“Yep,” Scott says with a self-satisfied smirk. “Fits Kurt’s theme well, don’t you think?”

“I thought you hated Hall and Oats,” she says. Scott just shrugs a shoulder at the accusation.

“Hate’s a strong word.”

Lola narrows her eyes even further. “I’ve seen interview footage of Tessa saying you refused to ever skate to their music despite that being her favourite song.” Scott wonders exactly how much time she’s spent looking them up on the internet. He thinks he should encourage her to find a new hobby.

“You see, way I remember it, I said I wouldn’t skate to it with _her_ ,” Scott clarifies, smugly.

“And you’re not skating with Tessa right now.” Scott can see her turning everything over in her mind. Her blue eyes seem to sparkle more than normal as understanding dawns on her.

“Nope, I’m not,” Scott is full on smirking now. “So, what do you think? Want to make my dreams come true?” He wiggles his eyebrows a little, hoping to draw a laugh from her.

It works, and Lola giggles a little, but she still thinks it over for a minute. “So, is skating to this part of the world domination plan or just to piss Tessa off?”

“Oh, it’s definitely both.”

Lola smiles back at him. She saw the devastation on his face last night, and the hope that’s taken its place now. A little revenge is more than fine by her if that’s what he needs. “Okay. Let’s do this.”

\- - -

Tessa would very much like to not have to skate today. In fact, she is not entirely sure she ever wants to step foot into Gadbois again. Last night had been a rollercoaster of emotions she really didn’t want to admit to. She had eventually gotten to sleep sometime close to 3 am but she’d had to be up early to video call with some collaborators at Hillburg & Burke and so now she just felt exhausted.

Complicating her morning, she had awoken to a social media storm surrounding her performance last night. While impressed with the skate, her fans were not impressed with her doing The Goose with someone other than Scott. It’s the first time she’d really experienced a backlash like this, and it was making her feel terrible.

Of course, Ricky in his innocent excitement (and maybe a little anger at Scott for his dismissive behavior the night before) had made it even worse by posting a picture of the move on his Instagram. He had foolishly included a picture of her and Scott doing in at Vancouver with a title of ‘Who did it better?’ – that backfired too because Ricky may have the hockey fans, but never mess with the Vitrue-Moir fandom – but it had turned the earlier storm into a full-on category five hurricane. The fans had gone crazy and Tessa had yelled at him to take it down. He did after reading some of the comments, but he’d been grumpy with her ever since (Kurt Browning, on the other hand, had called her to thank her for all the interest it had generated for the show, and it had taken everything in her not to hang up on him).

Perhaps the only thing that’s looking up is she’d managed to bribe Andrew Poje into swopping ice with her, so at least she could catch up with Kaitlyn (she absolutely could not deal with Zachary Donohue today). The two of them are busy stroking around the rink warming up when Kaitlyn asks her how she’s holding up.

“I wish I had a time machine right now,” Tessa says in reply.

Kaitlyn huffs out a laugh, but she stops skating and repeats the question.

Tessa shrugs. “I’ve managed to make everyone mad at me and I really wish I hadn’t.” she explains the added Instagram drama from this morning (Kaitlyn has already seen it – along with the rest of Canada it feels).

“Guess that’s the treatment Scott’s been getting since the engagement announcement last year,” Tessa says with a little more understanding than she might have had a few months (or even weeks or days) back.

“Have you spoken to Scott?” Kaitlyn asks. When Tessa gives her a look that says ‘are you crazy’ she hastily adds, “No, not about this. I mean before.”

“We haven’t spoken since Rock the Rink ended.” Tessa shakes her head. Kaitlyn looks like she really wants to ask a follow up question, so instead Tessa hastily adds, “Why?”

“I don’t know,” Kaitlyn says with a shrug. “But I think something happened. Did you know he was back in Ilderton?”

“No, but I know he always wanted to move back. Maybe they decided to move back before the wedding?”

Kaitlyn is frowning, “I think he’s back alone, actually. I’m not sure, though,” she adds quickly when Tessa’s eyes grow wide. “It’s just something he said the first day here and then Andrew said something too that made me think.”

That gives Tessa pause. She honestly had no idea. She’s prevented from dwelling on it more, though, because Ricky and Kaitlyn’s partner Tyler join them and its back to focusing on choreography.

\- - -

Madison Hubbell raises her eyebrows at the music when she and Mac join Scott and Lola on the ice the next day.

“Are you trying to start World War Three?” she asks Scott as she steps onto the ice.

“It’s a great song, a classic, really,” he says, arms spreading out in an exaggerated shrug. “And, if we add in some cool lifts, I think it we’ll have them dancing in the stands by the end. This is just a smart competition choice, Madi.”

Madison does not look convinced, so Lola pipes up. “Besides, Tessa and Ricky started it. Did you see Instagram yesterday?”

Madi snorts out a laugh but waves a hand for them to continue.

Marie-France does not share Scott’s enthusiasm over his song choice. In fact, the look she gives Scott very clearly says that she knows what he’s doing, and she does not approve. In the end, however, Madi convinces her to help them anyway.

“An eye for an eye leaves everyone blind,” Marie tells Scott when he tells her what song they’ve picked. 

Scott folds his arms across his chest, preparing to argue his case but reluctant to cross his mentor. It’s then that Madi steps in and tells them to show Marie what they’ve worked on so far.

As Scott and Lola head for center ice to start, Marie turns to Madison, resignation clear on her face. “Why are you encouraging this?”

“You didn’t see his face after he saw Tessa’s dance last night,” Madi says quietly with a small shrug to her shoulders.

Marie lets out a sad sigh and mutters about her babies fighting under her breath.

A few minutes later, when Scott and Lola rejoin her at the boards, with the final verses of You Make My Dreams Come True still playing over the speakers, she agrees to help them choreograph a piece to one of Tessa’s favorite songs.

\- - -

Tessa breaks down when her sister FaceTimes her on Wednesday night.

“What were you thinking?” is the first thing Jordan says when Tessa answers the phone.

Tessa doesn’t even try to explain. She just bursts into tears. It had been a long day (three days actually). The fallout following Sunday’s show had been epic. Skating fans were going crazy (hockey fans were going crazy back). Tessa had never experienced the wrath of their fans like this. Even Zach Donohue, who had done some truly terrible things to Madi in the past, had been all to happy not to share the ice with her.

“I messed up so badly, Jo,” she eventually gets out between sobs.

“Tessie,” Jordan’s tone is so soft it just makes Tessa cry harder, so she just waits patiently for her sister to calm a little.

After a minute Tessa’s sobs calm to occasional sniffles.

“I didn’t realize you were still so angry at him,” Jordan says eventually. Tessa almost smiles despite her tears; Jordan never beats around the bush.

Tessa wipes at her eyes as they well up with more tears. “I wasn’t. I’m not. That’s not why I did it,” she stutters out eventually.

On the slightly grainy picture, she sees Jordan raises an eyebrow.

“It wasn’t about Scott at all,” Tessa takes a deep breath. “Ricky just kept begging, and he looked so upset when I said no. You should’ve seen it, Jo. And then he started asking why.”

“Why? Tessa why is because you spent twenty years with someone. Why is because …,” suddenly Jordan stops, understanding suddenly clear on her face. “Tessa Jane, please tell me that Ricky does not believe the platonic business partners bullshit you’ve been selling.”

Tessa glances behind her, pleased she can still hear the shower running so Ricky won’t have heard. “It’s true, Jordan. We were … we’ve always been … it was platonic,” she stutters out.

“Yeah, but Tessa we both know that’s not what either of you really wanted.”

New tears spring to Tessa’s eyes. She shoves her hand against them, fighting a losing battle. “I told him, you know. Right before the retirement announcement,” it’s so quiet, Jordan almost doesn’t hear. “I told him I loved him.”

Jordan did not know this. It’s enough of a revelation to shock her into silence.

“I told him I loved him, and he told me I was too late,” Tessa has tears streaming down her face again.

\- - -

It’s Sunday night and Scott and Lola can hear the crowd cheering for Kaitlyn and Tyler from backstage at the Bell Centre. So far, the new show has been a hit (Lola had said earlier that she thought the twitter drama after The Goose last week probably helped the ratings but had promptly shut up when Scott looked at her like she’d committed treason, which she supposed in a way she had).

Despite the shock of the first show, this week has actually been pretty good. Scott’s enjoying having something to focus on again (well two things, because his annoy Tessa plan has not been forgotten – he had seriously considered moving her skate guards from their carefully chosen spot just before she skated, but he decided to keep that in reserve for next week). Lola has been an energetic and enthusiastic distraction and he’s been enjoying ‘coaching’ her (and to a degree Madi and Mac). Still protesting, Marie had helped them with a great routine, and they had largely managed to avoid Tessa and Ricky (and where they couldn’t for group choreography, Lola, Madi and Mac had happily formed a buffer for Scott).

Now, they can hear Ron Mclean and Tracy Wilson, the presenters, ask the judges for feedback once the applause dies down, but neither of them really wants to hear it, so Lola drags him a little further away from the tunnel.

“You sure you want to do this?” Lola asks him. She’s talking about the song (and also about deliberately doing something to hurt Tessa).

No. No, he’s not sure at all. “We don’t really have a choice, right now, do we?” he says instead.

“You could tell her,” Lola says and not for the first time, Scott thinks she is wise beyond her years. He definitely wasn’t this sensible at twenty-two.

Scott thinks for a moment. The hurt is still there, but it stings less now, evolving over the week from acute, blinding pain to more of a dull ache (he almost felt bad for Tess following the fan outrage). He genuinely considers finding Tessa to talk (and do what, he wonders - apologize in advance? Beg her forgiveness?). She had skated earlier (with none of their old lifts, Lola had assured him after he refused to watch it himself) so she must still be around somewhere.

He even starts to look for her, he really does, but before he can get far Emily finds him. He and Lola are up next, and they’ve got one minute until they start.

Lola gives his hand a squeeze as they skate out together. Scott takes a deep breath as they’re announced and when the music starts moments later, he does his best not to think of Tessa.

\- - -

Tessa is standing in line with all the other skaters at center ice while Ron and Tracy announce the results of the public vote from the past week. The bottom two teams will have to skate off for the judges to decide who goes home. There’s an air of nervous excitement among the skaters, no-one wanting to be the first ones to go home. Tessa, however, can’t focus on the competition right now. She is so angry she barely even notices that she and Ricky are called safe until he tugs at her hand and gives her a pointed look. She hastily turns on a smile for the crowd and they manage to take a bow for the crowd, but her mind elsewhere as they skate off the ice.

The cause of her rage is none other than the man who had gleefully spun his partner around and left the ice just before them. She absolutely cannot believe Scott chose to skate to Hall & Oats. She has been positively fuming since she had heard the opening bars of music (that he and Lola had skated well, like really well, most definitely did not help). Of all the dirty tricks, skating to her favorite song (and one he had resolutely refused to skate to with her) was pretty low.

Actually, it’s beyond low, she thinks once they’re backstage. It’s like a slap in the face. It’s a total betrayal (it’s not The Goose, though, the logical part of her brain supplies, but she silences that quickly because anger is much easier than guilt). She doesn’t notice anything around her – she honestly couldn’t tell you who was safe and who was skating again. She can only see red. Ricky tries to talk to her, but she brushes him off, trying to calm her breathing and get herself in check.

Ten minutes later, after the judges announce that sadly Evan Bates and Kay Wade will be leaving, it is not the Battle of the Blades overture that’s blaring throughout the stadium to signal the end of the show that Tessa hears. Instead, she has her earbuds stuffed into her ears, her music on shuffle as she paces backstage trying to remind herself how to breathe. When the song switches again, it’s the overture to Carmen that she hears. And along with the music assaulting her senses, comes a plan.

Revenge may be best served cold, but Scott Moir should look out because, sometimes, it can be very, very hot.


	5. 5. The Truce

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again for all the comments and encouragement!

# \- - Chapter Five: The Truce - -

Tessa begins teaching Ricky an abridged version of the Carmen choreography first thing on Monday morning (literally first thing because, somehow, they got allocated the 6 am ice slot).

When she had shown him video of the free dance from Worlds in 2013, he had raised his eyebrows – the look on his face somewhere between intrigue and shock (and maybe with a hint of something that looked like jealousy). When she informed him they would reviving it this week he had agreed pretty readily (after a small argument about whether an opera/ballet really fitted into Kurt’s memo that this week was all about ‘Broadway’). He may have also made some comments about trialing those lifts in their bedroom first but she had swatted him on the arm and told him to focus – there was time for that later, beating Scott at his own game was more important.

They’re sharing ice with Zach and Amy again. Zach had clearly recognized the music when Tessa queued it up on the sound system, but fortunately he’d just raised his eyebrows and muttered something along the lines of “Oh, this is going to be good,” to Amy, and left Tessa and Ricky to it.

It has, however, been a little slow going, trying to adapt the dance to Ricky’s skill level. Although he’s improved so much since the opening week, and they’re skating better at a unit. They’ve booked a dance studio for later in the afternoon to practice the lifts – most of them are too complicated to try out on the ice straight away. She’s hoping to be able to try them on the ice by Wednesday, but that might be optimistic, she thinks, as Ricky catches a toepick, _again_.

\- - -

Scott rides the high of Sunday’s show into practice on Monday morning. The judges (and Canada) had loved Lola last night (as they should, she had been amazing) and he was looking forward to their Broadway dance this week. He may have also seen Tessa’s face when she and Ricky exited the tunnel after they were announced safe, and her absolute fury was just added motivation (perhaps what he was enjoying most, if you really pushed him for an answer, was how hard she was trying to remain calm and collected when it clearly wasn’t working, but he’s trying hard not to be a total ass about it).

Although he isn’t involved in the show directly, Patrice is still in charge of ice assignments; and, as during the training season, he is meticulous in crafting the schedule and sending it out every Sunday night. In a moment of true inspiration, Scott _may_ have bribed Emily the production assistant to alter Patrice’s carefully worked out ice schedule before it got sent out. And if the new schedule _somehow_ had Tessa and Ricky on the ice every day this week at 6 am, he will totally deny he had anything to do with it (but he totally did it, and he’s a more than a little impressed with his ingenuity).

Scott met Lola for coffee before their ice session, at a small cafe around the corner from his old condo, to choose a song for the week. It had felt a little like going back in time – tinged with nostalgia and in some way a homecoming (and he pretended to himself that he did not miss Tessa pretty well, he thought). There had been quite a bit of arguing about music (Lola was opinionated, that was for sure), but it had been fun going back and forth trying to settle on a Broadway number they both liked. Scott rejected her proposal of Phantom because he didn’t want the reminder of Charlie and Meryl’s dance from Vancouver. She vetoed his suggestion of _Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend_ (he thinks out of spite). At least they both agreed on nothing from Cats. Eventually, after listening to more show tunes than Scott ever wanted to, they settled on _Falling Slowly_ from Once (it’s slow, and pretty, and will give them a chance to tell a different story than the last two weeks) just in time to make it to Gadbois for their ice time.

Midway through their session, Scott is at the boards with Madi while Lola and Mac are still skating. It’s become a comfortable routine for them to help coach each other’s partners. Scott thinks the coaching, if you can call it that, is possibly his favorite part of the whole competition (and getting good scores, he likes that too, if he’s being honest). Madi and Mac have chosen _Singing in the Rain_ , and he thinks she’s done a good job so far of putting together a crowd pleaser. Madi’s insisting on raincoats and umbrellas to really sell it and Scott thinks that by the time Marie’s sharpened it up tomorrow, he and Lola may have some real competition.

“How come you guys are skating this show?” he asks Madison after he tells Lola to have another run at the step sequence. “I thought you’d be focusing on the Olympics.”

Madi shrugs. “It’s a pre-Olympic season, so we’re trying something new. And I like the way the show makes you more memorable to an audience. I think we need that going into the Olympics – anything that helps get the crowd invested helps.”

Scott nods. He can’t really argue - he and Tessa had agreed to that stupid documentary-turned-reality show for the same reason. He hopes it works out better for the Americans than it did for them. They’ve improved a lot over the last few years (and maybe he likes them more than Gabi and Gui, although he wouldn’t admit that out loud).

“We miss you guys around here, you know,” Madison says then.

“Oh yeah?” Scott asks, not totally believing her.

“Yeah,” she’s being serious. “Things have been a little more tense since Gabi and Gui lost at Europeans.”

Scott frowns. He thought Gabi and Madison were quite close.

Madi shrugs before he can ask, like she’s trying to brush it off. “It’s just hard, I guess. Being friends and training with the people you know are almost certainly going to beat you at the Olympics.”

Scott huffs a laugh. Not because it’s funny, but because he does know, all too well. “You okay, Madi?” he’s concerned about her. Not because he doubts Marie and Patrice aren’t looking out for all their teams, but because he knows sometimes it’s hard to say what you really need to.

“Yeah,” Madi says, almost alarmed at how concerned he seems to be. “I really am. Just a little in my head – we’ve got a meeting with US Figure Skating tomorrow. But I love training here and Zach and I are finally getting more consistent. And I’m enjoying the opportunities – like this show.”

Scott stares at her for a minute when she finishes, but she nods at him to drive her point home and he takes her word for it. The each take another gulp of water before heading to find their partners and continue with practice. And as hard as he’s working with Lola, Scott can’t keep his mind from occasionally thinking about what Madi said, and from thinking about how much he’s missed everyone here, too.

\- - -

The problem with reviving Carmen, Tessa had learned very early yesterday afternoon in the Gadbois dance studio, is that Ricky is significantly taller than Scott (and he hasn’t spent twenty-two years catching her as she goes flying into his arms, which doesn’t help either). The height difference is making the lifts a little difficult. Or, more specifically, one particular lift a little difficult. And she refuses to perform Carmen without it (for artistic integrity, of course, not because _that_ lift will annoy Scott most of all).

So, Tuesday morning she swops ice time with Kaitlyn (which required the promise of a whole lot of wine and ice cream in exchange for the early slot) and she and Ricky head to the dance studio for another off-ice session instead.

It takes a lot of adjusting, and Tessa does more backflips than she ever wanted to, but eventually they have is somewhere close to where they can try it on the ice.

\- - -

It is Tuesday morning that Scott realizes Tessa’s plan. Feeling inspired (and motivated as hell after a great day yesterday), he and Lola had decided to practice some lifts in the dance studio before their ice time. However, when they arrived, they had found the studio occupied.

The studio is shut, and you can’t see in, but Scott freezes the second he hears the music coming from behind the door. That overture has been seared into his brain since 2012 and he would know it anywhere. Instantly, he knows it’s Tessa and Ricky in the studio – and he knows what she’s doing, and he cannot believe it. He wants to barge through the door and start yelling at her. Or maybe he should just punch Ricky; really, the guy has been asking for it (although, he is significantly bigger than Scott, and as a hockey player, probably a lot more used to fighting – Scott is pretty scrappy but he would probably come off second best). He’s trying to weigh his options when the remembers Lola standing next to him. She’s looking at him with her eyebrows raised, her curiosity clear.

He simply points to the door and whispers, “That’s Carmen.”

Another person may have asked ‘Carmen who?’, but clearly Lola has done enough internet stalking to realize exactly what he’s talking about. The look of pure outrage on her face is almost endearing. She instantly launches into a tirade about how dare Tessa do that to him and would he please let her be the one to yell at her for him. And, seriously, what the hell happened between the two of them?

It’s as she rants that Scott own anger is replaced by a sense of complete calm, because he realizes exactly what needs to be done. Thank goodness for Broadway’s latest musical, because, really, Kurt has just handed it to him on a silver platter.

So, it is both with total calm and sincerity that he shushes her with a brush of his arm and asks, “Lola, how do you feel about Moulin Rouge?”

\- - -

It is some terrible stroke of luck that lands Scott and Tessa on ice at the same time on Wednesday morning. Madi and Zach’s meeting with US Figure Skating about their upcoming season got changed from Tuesday to today which had resulted in a total switch around of the ice schedule (when Madi had phoned Scott to apologize the night before she sounded so upset Scott hadn’t even thought of complaining).

Scott decides to embrace the shared ice as a continuation of his plan (although Lola had needed some reeling in). This was even better, he had explained to her, because now they actually get to see Tessa’s face when she realizes what they’re skating to, rather than chance her seeing it during the show. A look of pure excitement had overtaken Lola’s face as she realized this (reminding Scott a little of a Disney villain hatching a plan), and Scott was reminded how glad he was that Lola was on his side.

And the look on Tessa’s face was priceless. She had already been a little disgruntled when Scott and Lola joined her and Ricky on the ice, but after they had finished warming up and Scott had queued up _Roxanne_ on the sound system, she had stopped so suddenly that Ricky had actually crashed into her. Scott didn’t think he had seen her that angry, ever (he thinks it might be particularly because he had hardly reacted to Carmen). She had spent a full five minutes at the boards glaring daggers at him before she changed the music back to _Carmen_ , grabbed Ricky’s hand and proceeded to put on the steamiest run through of the beginning of the dance that Scott has ever seen.

Not to be outdone, he and Lola had managed to spice up Moulin Rouge a little, too on their next run-through. Of course, this had led to Tess and Ricky sexing up _Carmen_ even more.

The thing about Tessa and Scott, is that their partnership was built on competition. Sure, for the last twenty years of it, they had channeled their energies into beating the competition and skating _for_ each other, but what had first kept them skating together was an intense need to keep up with and be better _than_ one another. And, apparently, that competitive spirit doesn’t go away. With neither of them prepared to call uncle, it was never going to end well. Each time the music alternates between _Carmen_ and the _Tango del Roxanne_ , the moves get a little more sultry, the holds a little longer, the lifts a little filthier and the looks a little more hooded.

By the fourth music switch, a small crowd had started to gather in the stands, everyone transfixed by the battle of wills playing out before them. By the time Scott and Lola pause for a drink at the boards, it seems like every team at Gadbois was somewhere in the stands, watching to see what happened next.

As Ricky spun around the rink with Tessa on his shoulders a few times more than the lift actually called for, Scott threw his water bottle over the boards and told Lola it was their time to do the backflip. She hastily took a few more drags from her own bottle before following him across the ice.

They didn’t get to do it though, because as they started skating and picking up speed, Patrice’s voice boomed out across the rink, yelling, “Enough.”

It was the angriest Scott had ever heard his normally mild-mannered former coach, and enough for both him and Lola and Tessa and Ricky to stop abruptly. What they were greeted with was a fuming Patrice standing in front of a gaggle of novice skaters here for the day for a workshop, complete with a few parents too. Most of whom were probably not expecting the almost X-rated skating show they had just been treated to.

“You two,” Patch pointed to Scott and Tessa, the look on his face akin to a cartoon character with steam rising from his ears. “The office. Now.”

In no position to argue, Scott and Tessa looked at each other briefly before hurriedly getting their skate guards on and following Patrice, who spouted rapid-fire French the entire way to the office. Marie-France was already inside, looking at video on her computer. She took one look at Patrice and the two of them behind him before the most resigned look Scott has ever seen settled across her face.

As soon as the office door closed behind the three of them, Scott spluttered, “She started it.”

At the exact same time as Tessa whined, “He started it.”

Patrice looked even more angry - a feat Scott hadn’t thought possible moments before. “No,” he said firmly. “You two are not speaking now. Only adults get to speak in the office, and you two are not acting like adults.”

Scott thought it would be counterproductive to point out that acting too _adult_ is actually what got them into trouble, so he kept his eyes on the floor as he waited for Patrice to continue.

“I do not know what is going on between you two,” Patrice paused for a breath and Scott opened his mouth to speak, only to be silenced by the older man. “I do not even want to know what is going on,” he challenged, eyeing them both and almost daring them to contradict them. This time, neither attempted to speak. “I will not have this on my ice. You two did amazing things, because you did them together. But you have been acting like petulant children since you got back here, so now you will be treated like children. You are both going to apologize to each other, in fact I am not letting you out of this office until you are able to talk to each other, without acting like …” he stopped short, looking for the right word.

“Idiots,” Marie-France supplied and Patch nodded to her in thanks, although Scott thought he was probably looking for a stronger word.

“Once you have done that, you will each speak to Marie, who will help you choreograph _new_ routines that do not leave my rink looking like a adult film set,” he looked at each of them, checking that he has nods of consent from both before continuing. “And then you will go back to acting like the adults and role models that we used to have skating here.”

“And if we cannot do any of this, then I think a session with J-F is required,” Marie supplies.

Scott sure he isn’t ready for what will be an emotional session with their former mental-prep coach, but maybe Marie has a point. It feels a little like being sent to the principal’s office, but what was really crushing Scott was seeing the disappointment on Marie and Patch’s faces. Letting down their mentors is not something either he or Tessa ever would have wanted. 

“Now, I assume you do not need a referee to talk to each other,” Patch asks. When both Scott and Tessa shake their heads obediently, he and Marie stood to leave the room. “Alright, I have some parents to apologize to,” he said with a shake of his head and Scott can hear them muttering to each other in French as they walked out. Scott is pretty sure he can make out the words ‘children’, ‘Carmen’ and ‘Moulin Rouge’ before Patch closes the door.

Alone with Tessa for the first time in six months, Scott is not entirely sure what to do or to say. Right now, he’s staring at her what he’s sure must be awkwardly and she’s steadfastly staring at her shoes.

“I do not hear apologizing,” comes Marie’s voice through the closed door and Scott sees a small smile flicker across Tessa’s face (similar, he thinks, to his own).

“I’m sor…” they both start at the same time, so Scott indicates for her to continue.

Tessa clears her throat. “I’m sorry, Scott.”

“Me too, Tess,”

“That’s better,” Marie shouts through the door. “We will leave you now because I think there is still more to say, but at least it’s a start.”

The affection Scott feels for their coaches increases immensely with that comment. They really do have their best interests at heart, and he loves them for it.

Scott pauses for a second before just deciding Marie is right and he needs to say more. “I’m sorry about Moulin Rouge, and Hall & Oats, and skating with someone else, although so are you and I don’t really think Battle of the Blades really counts,” he adds a little hastily. “And I’m sorry about what happened in November.”

Tessa looks a little more relaxed with each admission, and he even gets a small smile about Battle of the Blades, but she flinches when he mentions November. Some wounds aren’t healed so easily.

“I’m sorry about Carmen, and The Goose. I’m so, so sorry about The Goose and I didn’t even want to do it and it really wasn’t the same, you know?” she looks so sad and Scott really wants to reach out and hold her hand, twenty-two years of protecting her dictating his instincts. But he holds back, knowing neither of them are ready yet.

“And I should’ve given you a heads up about Ricky, but I really didn’t know he would be here.”

Scott raises an eyebrow, clearly skeptical, so she adds, “Really. I thought it was going to be John Tavares.”

Scott’s eyes just about pop out of his head. “No way, that would’ve been amazing.”

Tessa shrugs slightly in apology, but she doesn’t say anything more. A silence settles on them after that and as it stretches towards awkward, in a way that silence between them hasn’t felt since Tessa’s first surgery.

Eventually, Scott sighs, before asking, “Do you think, maybe, we could go for coffee some time. Not now, maybe next week or something? I think we still have some things to talk about.”

Tessa stays looking at her feet for a while, and when she eventually looks up at him her green eyes are a little wet. “Yeah,” she says quietly. “Maybe it’s time we talked.”

Scott feels like he’s simultaneously won the lottery and stepped in front of a speeding train. He’s just happy she’s agreed to that much. “I think we should head back to the ice, I can’t guarantee Lola hasn’t decided to take her anger at you out on Ricky.”

Tessa quirks an eyebrow at him.

“Oh, she’s a super fan. She was not impressed by the Carmen choice, by the way.” Tessa rolls her eyes at him as they make their way out of the office.

They make the walk back towards the rink in almost companionable silence, until Tessa says, “So, I guess this means I should cancel the half dozen mascots I organized to show up at the rink during group practice tomorrow.”

Scott stops abruptly. “Tessa! You didn’t.”

Tessa giggles, and if he weren’t so horrified by the thought of mascots, Scott would be ecstatic at hearing her laugh for the first time in six months. “Oh, I totally did,” she says with a smile. “Besides, after I figured out it was you who switched up the rink schedule to give me all the early slots, I had to think of something.”

“But mascots, Tess? That’s just mean. Cruel and unusual, Virtch. Cruel and unusual punishment, that’s what that is,” Scott is grabbing his chest as though mortally wounded.

Tessa laughs at his dramatics, and Scott thinks it is probably the closest they have been to being friends since before they retired.

Sure, there’s a long way to go, but for the first time in a long time, he has hope.

\- - -

Scott may have hope for his renewed friendship with Tessa, but that does not mean he is not still planning on beating her and Ricky in Battle of the Blades (also, Lola is not so quick to forgive so she remains extremely motivated). Fortunately, their hasty return to their Once program and some much-appreciated help from Marie had been enough for them to skate it fairly well. Also, the extra time spent practicing the complicated Moulin Rouge lifts allows them to up the skills in the lifts (although these could not look any less like any of their previous programs, Marie had made sure of that).

The judges love the skate (even if it is realistically a little under-rehearsed – although with hockey players for partners and only a week to practice everything is ultimately a little under-rehearsed). The crowds also seems to enjoy it, if the standing ovation at the end is any indication and coupled with the social media buzz surrounding Scott and Tessa (and Lola and Ricky), Scott is pretty confident they will be safe, even before Ron and Tracy confirm it at the end of the show.

Tessa and Ricky had settles on Grease to skate to, which had gone well for everyone except Scott who had a hard time trying not to notice how good Tessa looked skating in black leather tights. He’s pleased that Tessa and Ricky are also safe, because while he wants to beat them (badly) it’s not worth it if it’s too easy, but more importantly, the longer they stay in the competition, the more time he has to work things out with Tessa.

In the end, Piper and Zach and their partners have to dance again for the judges. Scott stands with Madi and Lola at the backstage monitor watching their skates. Madison is nervous if the running commentary she’s providing is anything to go by. He thinks she’s similar to him – she wants to beat Zach (and everyone knows about the bet they have going) but if he leaves this early it will be a shallow victory.

Piper and JP’s _Do You Hear the People Sing_ from Les Miserables is well costumed - they look like seventeenth century revolutionaries - but the audience connection is lacking (Scott thinks it’s mostly because JP just looks stiff and uncomfortable).

Zach and Amy skate to _You Can’t Stop the Beat_ after them and the upbeat Hairspray number definitely has more crowd involvement. Scott’s pretty sure they’re only in the bottom two because of a fall last week, and they’re definitely skating better than Piper and JP. Madison tells him not to jinx it when he tells her this, so he pulls her into his side and tells her to calm down (she doesn’t but at least he tried). They skate clean until the final lift, when Zach stumbles a little as he swings Amy onto his shoulder, although they do manage to stay upright.

“Does he always dip his shoulder, like that?” Scott asks Madison, pointing at the monitor.

“Yeah, I think so. Why?”

“They could land it better if he kept it up, is all,” Scott remarks idly.

Madison is staring at him like he just discovered electricity. “No one else has ever picked that up before.”

Scott shrugs, not really sure what to say, but Lola is still next to him, and she adds, “You would make a great coach, you know.” Maybe in another life, Scott thinks.

Ultimately the judges decide that Zach and Amy did a better job, and Madison heaves a sigh of relief next to Scott.

As they all get ready to leave at the end of the broadcast, Scott finds Tessa next to him. “She’s right, you know. Lola, about the coaching,” she clarifies. “You would make a great coach.”

Scott smiles. This is the first time she’s started a conversation with him in months.

“Only if you come and choreograph for me, T,” he was going for light, but it comes out serious.

Tessa looks at him for a moment before smiling back. “Maybe.”

Scott beams. Maybe there is hope after all. 


	6. 6. Allied Parties

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thank you for reading this and for all your kudos and comments - it gives me great joy to know people are enjoying this little story!
> 
> Hope everyone is keeping safe!

# \- - Chapter Six: Allied Parties - -

Monday morning of week four of Battle of the Blades starts with all eight remaining couples at the rink together. With fewer dances as the show progresses, there’s a bit more off-ice work to produce content to fill the television slot. This morning they’re having to film a few spots (mostly cutesy ‘How well do you know your partner’ type fluff) and they’re also drawing colors (yes, colors) out of a bag that they will need to feature in their dance (apparently Kurt is getting _creative_ with his theme weeks). Scott is seriously hoping they won’t get something like orange.

It also means that he and Tessa might have to interact outside of the usual Friday morning group practice. Despite their promise to talk, neither has made any move towards doing so and while he’s still exceptionally nervous, today’s the first time he’s not totally dreading an encounter since the show began. He is a little concerned about Lola having to interact with Tessa. His current _partner_ (the term still doesn’t quite feel right, much as he likes Lola) has some major issues with his previous (actual?) partner and Scott’s a little worried she may try to make those known.

Fortunately, Tessa has been chatting to Kaitlyn since they arrived, so keeping Lola out of her orbit hasn’t been too difficult. Scott and Lola are busy chatting to Andrew about the rumored WHL shut down next year when Kurt arrives with Emily and a small crew.

“Good morning everyone,” Kurt bellows happily. He proceeds to explain that the order of picking will be alphabetical based on the skater’s surname and how they need to incorporate the color into the routine somehow (music and clothes seem easiest, Scott thinks).

It takes a few minutes for the “stage” to be set and then Kurt sets about calling the first couple up to draw.

They all watch as Madison Chock picks white and then Zach’s partner Amy draws black for them. In the shuffle that follows different pairs moving from the floor to the set, Scott finds himself standing next to Tessa. “So, what color are you hoping for?” Scott whispers to her as Madi Hubbell goes up to draw.

“Ugh,” Tessa grumbles next to him, a sleepy smile on her face. “It’s too early for this, I can’t even compute it right now.”

“Pink” Madison calls out to Mac. She looks excited. He looks mildly panicked.

“Oh, thank goodness it’s not that,” Tessa says. “Can you imagine?” And Scott has to disguise a laugh as a cough when he sees Lola glaring at them.

“Can we just agree that neither of us skates to _Purple Rain_?” Scott asks her and the startled laugh that escapes her causes Ricky to look at the two of the quizzically and Lola’s frown to deepen even more.

It’s like a memory of times gone by. They both know it’s superficial and that there are a lot of things they really need to talk through, but this isn’t the time.

“We’re next,” Lola says firmly to Scott, her hand on his arm drawing him towards the set. He nods to Tess and then dutifully follows her to Kurt and the ridiculous top hat they’re using to pick out of.

“Better choose wisely, Lol,” Scott teases as she steps up to pick. “I’ve got a bet going with Poje abot who wins this week.”

She rolls her eyes at him good naturedly and sticks her hand into the hat. She makes a big production of pulling out the piece of paper, before opening it to display their fate.

“Green,” Scott reads off the paper. “Good choice,” he says, automatically, smiling for the cameras. And if he’s thinking a little bit about someone’s eyes as he starts wondering about a song, he doesn’t tell anyone.

Turns out, he doesn’t need to. Because as soon as they’re off camera and out of ear shot, Lola hisses at him, “If I hear a single word about someone’s ‘gorgeous green eyes’ I will quit on the spot.”

Scott thinks she’s joking (and he really needs to talk to her about staying off the internet – he said that _one_ time), but one look at her and he immediately holds his hands up in surrender. “I wouldn’t dare,” he says, though he’s already looking over head, watching Tessa and Ricky as they get in line to pick. 

Lola’s still looking at him unconvinced a few minutes later when across the room Ricky theatrically bemoans choosing red. “I was hoping on blue,” he’s saying to Tessa, indicating his Maple Leafs jersey in what couldn’t have been a better television moment had it been scripted (or maybe it was).

Scott decides he would rather not witness Tessa’s camera-ready response (the adoring way she’s staring at Ricky is already too much), so instead he turns towards Lola and their current challenge. “So, got any ideas about ‘green’?”

\- - -

“Tess, I think they’re ready for us.”

It’s strange, Tessa thinks as she joins Ricky to film the fluff segments, he only ever calls her ‘Tess’. She’s never noticed before, and to be fair, it is her name, but as someone who’s accumulated dozens of nicknames over the years (admittedly, mostly from Scott), it’s strange to just be called one thing the whole time.

She’s prevented from thinking about it any further by Emily’s arrival. She’s got miniature white boards and Tessa is pretty sure she can guess the game that’s coming. Goodness knows she played enough of these games with Scott (on every talk show in Canada) over the years. She assumes (or rather hopes) the questions will be mostly generic, since most of the skaters aren’t dating the hockey players they’re paired up with, but she’s still a little nervous.

“Ok,” Emily says from next to the cameraman, “We’re going to ask you a couple of questions about each other and you need to write down the answers before showing them to the cameras, sound okay?”

Yip, Tessa thinks. Exactly like the newlywed game.

“First question, ‘How old was Tessa when she first started skating?’” Emily reads off her clipboard.

Easy enough, Tessa thinks. She writes down ‘6’ and flips it when Emily counts down. Ricky’s put ‘4’ and Tessa explains how she started skating before a school trip. Ricky laughs a little, shrugging off his mistake and saying they’ll get the next one.

The second question is which was the first NHL team Ricky played for. Tessa is sure she’s right with the Penguins but turns out he’d played for the Jets before that. Now it’s her turn to blush and apologize quickly.

They manage to each score a point each on the next round (Tessa has won 5 Olympic medals and Ricky plays left wing with the Maple Leafs) so they breathe a sigh of relief. However, they both get their next questions wrong; when Tessa says chocolate is her guilty pleasure, Ricky guesses coffee (that’s a necessity, not a treat) and then Tessa doesn’t know who Ricky’s favorite hockey player as a child was.

They’re not important questions (although he should totally know about her chocolate obsession by now), but somehow getting so many questions wrong gives her pause. It’s not just that they wanted to ace it because they’re both competitive (they are), but they’ve been together for a few months and it feels wrong that they don’t know each other better.

She definitely doesn’t feel any better when she sees Scott and Lola high five after getting all three of their questions right.

\- - -

“I really think you’re letting Tessa off too easy,” that’s Lola. That’s also not the first time Lola’s made that opinion known. It’s Thursday morning and they’ve been at Gadbois for two hours and Scott thinks he’s heard it at least five times already. It had been bad since he and Tessa had returned laughing from Patrice’ intervention last week, but Lola’s ire has only increased since seeing Scott and Tessa together on Monday morning. Now, he just fights the urge to roll his eyes and lets her rant. “I mean it was The Goose, Scott. The Goose. And don’t even get me started on Carmen. Or the mascots.”

“I’m ninety percent sure she was kidding about the mascots, Lola,” Scott really doesn’t know why he’s engaging with her when she rolls his eyes at him. He’s not even sure why he told her about Tessa’s mascot jibe because it’s just given her even more to rage about. And he really is sure it was a joke (well like eighty percent sure).

“Fine,” Lola huffs, “Maybe the mascots were a joke, but I still think you’re taking this too well.”

Scott stops skating to look at her. He’s about had enough of this argument. “Lola, it’s complicated, okay? And I’ve far from resolved anything with Tess,” it’s true. Their interaction had been friendly and entirely superficial, but he feels so much lighter now that they’re not actually actively fighting anymore.

“Fine,” Lola finally concedes. “But I still think you should make her grovel about The Goose for at least a year,” she adds a little petulantly.

Scott laughs at the pout on her face. “Come on, let’s run that last bit through again.”

After a whole day of searching the entirety of Spotify for music featuring ‘green’, they had agreed on Lorde’s _Green Light._ It leant itself a little less to the gimmicks some of the other teams were using for audience appeal (Scott is pretty sure Tess is trying to organize 99 red balloons, and that if given a choice, Paul Poirier would actually have a yellow submarine on the ice), but the song’s mix of dramatic build-ups with bursts of energy are making for an amazing routine. 

“You know I might understand better if you just told me what happened between you two,” Lola says, ever the opportunist and still desperate to know, apparently.

Scott just laughs. He thinks he’s going to miss her when all this is done.

What he’s not going to miss, though, is Madison and Mac’s _Pink Panther_ music. He thinks he’s gone to bed with it ringing in his ears for the last two nights. Don’t get him wrong, the routine looks great, Madi and Marie had done an amazing job with choreography, and it’s an inspired choice given Kurt’s color challenge, but Scott’s not sure he wants to hear the music again. Maybe ever.

“What’s with the grimace?” Madi calls as she and Mac skate past.

“I can’t take this song anymore. I think I’m hearing it in my sleep.”

Madison laughs. “Get used to it. When you’re coaching one day, you’re going to have teams pick songs you wouldn’t,” she has the audacity stick out her tongue at him.

Between Lola and Madison, Scott’s not sure he’s going to survive the week. However, it’s when he notices the brunette at the boards that he truly starts wishing for a swift death.

\- - -

She’s still standing there when he follows Lola off the ice half an hour later. “Five minutes,” he says to her as he and Lola head towards the changerooms. She looks at him sternly but nods her assent.

Lola looks at him quizzically, clearly intrigued by the visitor. She obviously has a million questions, and probably another lecture for him, but he just tells her he will see her tomorrow and exchanges his skates for shoes quicker than ever before. It won’t end well for him if he keeps her waiting any longer.

He’s back at the boards in less than five minutes. She hasn’t moved from her spot and he doesn’t understand why she’s stayed standing this whole time with heels that high, but then again, she always was tough. She’s apparently focused on Madison and Mac’s final run through when he approaches, and he doesn’t think she’s heard him until she turns and asks, “Doesn’t that music get stuck in your head after like the second run-through?” There’s mild distain in her tone, and maybe a little humor.

He’s pretty sure it’s a rhetorical question, so he just shrugs. She looks him over for a minute and he feels a little like he should duck and cover. When she stays uncharacteristically silent; he thinks she’s leveled some unspoken challenge to see who cracks and speaks first. He caves, knowing she’s stubborn enough to keep this up forever and he’s decided he may as well accept his fate.

“What brings you to Montreal, Jordan?”

“You, Scott,” she says simply. “Well, Tess and you.”

Yep, he’s a dead man.

\- - -

They walk out of the rink to the small café across the road. Jordan keeps staring at him, her gaze steely, as he orders them each a coffee. She waits until he joins her at a table tucked into the back corner before she speaks.

“Did you really tell her it was too late?” Jordan always went straight for the jugular. It’s what makes her a good lawyer. It’s also what makes her scary as hell when she’s your skating partner’s big sister.

Somehow, even though he can surmise why Jordan is here, this is not what he expected her to lead with. He knows exactly what she’s talking about, though. “She waited until I had gotten engaged, Jordan. Tess had a whole year after the Olympics to admit how she felt,” he takes a deep breath before adding, a little defeatedly, “Hell, she had twenty years before that, too.”

Jordan does not look impressed. “You hadn’t even told her you’d gotten engaged, Scott. Can you really blame her for not telling you how she felt?”

Scott stands up, unsure that he can continue this conversation sitting but a quick glance around the small shop and a raised eyebrow from Jordan cause him to sit again. He runs his hands through his hair before answering. “You’re right, I should have phoned after the engagement, she probably shouldn’t have had to find out how she did.” Jordan’s eyes narrow when he says this, she clearly agrees he handled it wrong. “But did she tell you I phoned her the night before I asked, practically begging her for a reason not to?”

Jordan looks surprised. Clearly, she did not know that. Tessa evidently doesn’t tell her everything. She opens and closes her mouth a few times but can’t seem to find any words (Scott is sure that in the all the years he’s known Jordan Virtue, this is the only time he has ever seen her speechless).

Scott sighs. “Why are you here, Jordan?” It’s the second time he’s asked, and what he really means is ‘What do you want?’.

Jordan looks a little mollified. She takes a moment to collect her thoughts. “I thought this show would be a good thing, remind Tessa why she enjoyed skating, even without you,” Scott waits, he knows that’s not all. “Tess has cried on the phone three times in the last three weeks,” she admits eventually.

Now it’s Scott who can’t speak. Their small (or not so small) squabbles aside, he thought she was happy with Ricky. It certainly looked that way on Instagram.

Jordan puts a hand on his arm before she continues. He doesn’t know if it’s intended to comfort or just to allow her to explain. “You know I’ve never understood your relationship? I mean, not really. When you were kids it was one thing, it was cute, actually, watching how awkward you were with each other, but at the same time so attached. And then when you moved away, I was happy she had someone with her through it all. Maybe I wasn’t always happy it was you, particularly around the first surgery and, let’s face it, teenage you could be a dick sometimes. But I saw how much you loved each other; we all did. Honestly, I think part of the reason my mom spent so much time in Canton was a genuine fear that you’d get Tessa pregnant before Vancouver.” Scott rolls his eyes at her when she says this. Of everyone, Jordan should know they weren’t sleeping together. 

“And then even after everything went to hell after Sochi, when Tess nearly worked herself to death doing anything that wasn’t skating, and you, well you made stupid life decisions, too,” she obviously senses he’s about to protest, because she asks, “Is the house finished, yet, Scotty?” He glares at her about the nickname but concedes that it’s not, so he waves his hand for her to continue. “Even after all of that, you saved each other again with the comeback. We all thought you were crazy, you know?” That’s rhetorical – their families all told them that repeatedly at the time (well, Tessa’s family, mostly; his were just glad he’d sobered up). “But it worked. You got your golds and you were both the happiest I had ever seen you.” She smiles just a little, and he knows it mirrors his own face.

“And then, after the Olympics, we all waited for you to tell us you were a couple, but you never did. So, we figured after Thank You Canada, and still nothing, and then last year happened,” she trails off, taking a deep breath before continuing. “I don’t think any of us understand why you never even tried.”

Scott is quiet when Jordan eventually finishes talking. To be honest, he’s not really sure why himself. He wanted to, he wanted to so badly it had hurt. He’d even tried to broach the topic with Tessa a few times. First before the comeback, then again after Worlds in 2017. She had shot the idea down both times, citing their skating as a priority before he even finished the sentence both times. He brought it up again after the free dance in PyeongChang, had been clear about his feelings and his desires for a future together that involved more that skating, but she had hesitated. He can remember every detail of the moment when she told him that the Olympic village half an hour after the got their medals was not the place for declarations of love, that it was just the Olympic high and they needed time to breathe before they made any decisions. He had resolved to give her time. When he brought it up again after the Stars on Ice Tour a few months later, her reaction was just as depressing. She was too scared to risk their friendship on a relationship, when to him it was a sure thing.

The third time she told him no after the Olympics, Scott had given up. Angry at her lack of faith in them, and nursing a broken heart, he had found someone else to pursue. He had poured all his hurt into his developing his new relationship, and it had worked, for a while. He loved his time with her, she was fun and uncomplicated, and he had really tried to convince himself that he loved her, too. Turns out that uprooting his life and throwing himself into someone else hadn’t been enough to forget Tessa – the problem was that by the time he had allowed himself to acknowledge that he would always be in love with Tessa, he had bought a ring for someone else. 

The fight in November last year had really been two years in the making. Hearing Tessa tell him she loved him was everything he had wanted since he was twenty. But having her wait till she thought she had lost him to say it stung worse than any pain he’d experienced. He’d told her she was too late as a reflex, a need to lash out and hurt her the same way she’d hurt him. The retirement that resulted from it was bourne from a need for distance, to lick their wounds away from each other.

It’s ironic really, and more than a little sad, that they had spent twenty-two years building each other up, only to break each other under the pretense of loving one another. The way he and Tessa hurt each other at the end, each deliberately inflicting pain to try to shield themselves, is without doubt the greatest regret of his life.

He tells Jordan none of this. Right now, he resents her interference in his life. And while he’s sure he’s at least part of the cause of Tessa’s unhappiness now, that’s not up to Jordan to try and fix. He’ll talk to Tessa when she’s ready, but that’s it.

“I was in love with your sister for most of my life, Jordan.” He drains his coffee before standing up. “I know there are a lot of things I could have done better. But I’m not sure I’m ready to get over the fact that she waited until it was over to tell me she felt the same.”

He leaves before she can ask him what he knows is the only logical follow up question. The question whose answer ultimately ended his engagement.

Because the truth is, he wasn’t just in love with her, past tense. He is still, and forever will be, in love with Tessa Virtue.

\- - -

Tessa was supposed to go for drinks with Kaitlyn on Friday evening, however, the startling revelation that Jordan is in Montreal has her rescheduling. Instead, she finds herself out to dinner with her boyfriend and older sister and seriously questioning her resolve to only have one glass of wine if she wants to get through this dinner with her sanity intact.

Ricky is being his usual charming, if slightly oblivious, self. He happily chats to Jordan about the show, giving her the rundown of the other couples and their personal highlights, so far. He even brings up The Goose, again, and appears totally oblivious to how high Jordan’s eyebrows rise as he recounts that dance.

Jordan, on the other hand, seems to be determined to stir up trouble. She’s been smirking behind her drink like she’s got a secret and made a few well-timed, if under-appreciated, jokes about Tessa (and Scott). 

“Scott and Lola are skating well,” Jordan says when there’s a lull in the conversation. “Lola’s really pretty,” she adds with a smirk. Ricky grunts noncommittally in agreement but Tessa nearly chokes on her mouthful of wine.

“Yeah,” Tessa manages after she’s done coughing. “Lola’s really good. I actually think she used to be a singles skater before she switched to hockey. And, well, Scott’s always been the best partner.”

She doesn’t even realize what she’s said until she hears Ricky’s knife clatter to the floor next to her. Jordan’s eyes are wider than Tessa’s ever seen, her face clearly reflecting the panic Tessa feels herself.

Tessa reaches her hand out to Ricky, who is currently searching the floor for his dropped knife. “I just mean, he’s good at bringing out the best in his partner, I mean, um …” she flounders, looking for a way to mitigate what she’s said.

Eventually, Ricky saves her, giving her a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes and saying he knows what she means. The hurt in his eyes is clear, though and Tessa feels terrible.

Screw training, she thinks as she calls the waiter over. There is no way she’s getting through tonight without more wine.

\- - -

By Sunday night’s show, Scott is exceedingly grateful that he will never have to spend hours listening to _Pink Panther_ again. He had seriously considered finding someone to swop ice time with them, but it felt a little disloyal to Madi, so he had sucked it up (and complained continuously to Lola about it). He doesn’t know what it is, but that repetitive _da-da, da-da_ just really got to him (it might also be the metaphor about searching for something that’s haunting him, but he doesn’t want to read too much into that thought).

Madison’s music choices aside, it’s been a strange week. Any progress at repairing his relationship with Tessa had been largely derailed by Jordan’s surprise visit (and the bunch of feelings that stirred up). Lola had seemed both pleased about this (she still thinks he should have kicked up more of a fuss about The Goose) and a bit disgruntled that he won’t tell her anything about his meeting with Jordan. She’s maintaining it’s her prerogative to know as his self-appointed new best friend (he is not sure he agrees with this title, but he’s a bit scared of Lola, so he’s going with it). So far, he’s managed to withstand her interrogation, but she’s relentless in her pursuit of answers and he suspects he may crack sooner rather than later.

The level of skating has really improved over the past few weeks, and Kurt’s color challenge has resulted in some unusual programs and costumes. Madi had nearly died laughing when she saw Zach and Amy’s outfits (they looked like they were channeling Tanith and Ben’s winged costumes from Vancouver, although Scott felt it suited their _Blackbird_ program). Zach had teased Madi just as relentlessly about her pink cat (panther?) suit, although it was Lola presenting her with pink cat ears that really set everyone into hysterics.

They’re midway through the show when Tessa and Ricky take the ice. As he watches them (well, mostly Tessa) skate from the monitors backstage, Scott finds himself worrying about Tessa. Their routine is well choreographed, and Tessa has a handful of red balloons (though nowhere near ninety-nine) but she looks a little stiff. It’s barely noticeable, but she’s definitely not as loose as normal and the smile on her face doesn’t quite reach her eyes.

Twenty minutes later, the look on Tessa’s face is still haunting Scott. It’s enough that he’s not totally focusing on what he’s doing, and he manages to catch his toe pick as they step out of the tunnel. Nearly face-planting onto the ice was not how he planned to start tonight’s routine. As he steadies himself, Lola shoots him a look that says she knows exactly what’s going on and she does not approve of it. It’s enough to bring him back into the moment and when the music starts, all Scott is focused on is Lola and their skate.

It’s a fantastic skate. They manage to execute their complicated lifts perfectly, and Lola even nails the twizzles. Scott pulls Lola into a hug so tight after he worries that he’s hurting her, until he hears her yelling with excitement in his ear. Before he even realizes what he’s doing, he’s lifted her up and is twirling her around the ice as the crowd gives a standing ovation.

When they settle down, the judges agree with the crowd and the feedback and scores are beyond complimentary. Madison (whose own skate received just as much praise) is jumping up and down with excitement and she grabs them both in a celebratory hug as soon as they have their skate guards on. Even Tessa, who still looks a little sad gives Scott’s arm a squeeze and says a quiet ‘well done, kiddo’. He resolves right then to make more of an effort with her next week.

The rest of the show passes in a bit of a blur. They all return to the ice for the results, but Scott barely notices who’s in the bottom two, nor does he pay too much attention to their final skates or even really register that it’s Madison Chock and Dougie Hughes going home.

For the first time in a long time, he’s found happiness on the ice again, and buoyed by his newfound commitment to work out his differences with Tessa, he’s actually looking forward to the next week.

When he hears Ron Mclean and Tracy Wilson thank the audience and then announce that next week will be a special ‘Mini-Blades’ show, he’s only gets more excited.


	7. 7. Mini-Battles

# \- - Chapter Seven: Mini-Battles - -

Mini-Blades week, Scott decides, is undoubtably the reason he stuck with this show (Lola would argue that her charm was the real reason, but it’s definitely the kids). The week is scheduled a little different to their normal for Battle of the Blades. They still have their own routines to work on (and two hour practices which somehow feel a lot longer at thirty two than five hour practices did at twenty, or twenty-five or even thirty), but most of the day is spent in coaching clinics with different groups of kids - from tiny CanSkate toddlers who are just learning to balance on blades right up to some nationally ranked juniors.

Their music choices are also a little different this week. Kurt has paired each couple up with a pre-novice hockey player/figure skater team, who are going to assign them a Disney movie to choose music from. The pre-novice teams will also feature in the opening skate (or skates this week, because fourteen couples on the ice would be a little much).

Scott and Lola are paired with Jake, a hockey player, and Zoey, an ice dancer who looks a little overwhelmed by the whole experience. They’re both fourteen and have known each other for all of two hours when they first step onto the ice with Scott and Lola. The point of the exercise is to show the kids what they can learn from the different sports and each other (kind of like what the adults are doing) and Kurt’s team have picked particularly promising kids from around the country to work with them for the week.

Jake and Lola hit it off straight away, he’s already animatedly discussing her goal in the semis at PyeongChang with her before they’ve finished a full lap around the rink together. Zoey, on the other hand, remains totally silent. She looked a little in awe at meeting Scott (he suspects there would be even more shock if she met Tess). She actually reminds Scott of Tessa at that age – not because of how she looks (she’s blonde and way taller than Tessa was then, close to her height now actually), but the expression on her face is almost exactly the same as Tessa’s their first day of high school in Waterloo – totally overwhelmed but trying hard not to show it. The skate around next to each other, behind Lola and Jake, to warm up, but while they may achieve that goal physically, Scott thinks the young girl looks more tense after a few laps than when they started skating.

Her usual ice dance partner, Austin, is supposed to be working with Madi and Mac, but Scott thinks maybe all of them can work together for a bit.

The look on relief on her face as Austin stands next to her is endearing and Madi is clearly having to suppress a smile as she mouths, “Good call, coach,” to Scott over their heads. Scott rolls his eyes at her but has to work hard to suppress a smile of his own.

Together, Madi and Scott work through a mini ice dance clinic with all four young skaters, demonstrating some moves with Mac or Lola and some together. Scott thinks his favorite part is when he casually lifts Madi over his shoulder in a lift and the eyes of the two young hockey players get huge - it’s always fun shattering preconceptions about figure skating.

Zoey slowly starts to open up a bit too, as the morning progresses. She and Austin demonstrate some of the step sequences from their current rhythm dance and Scott is really impressed with their skills. Both skaters blush scarlet when he tells them this (and nearly crash into each other a moment later, but they all choose to ignore that). As the time progresses, though, all the kids relax a bit and even Zoey is happy to try skating with Jake. Lola and Mac teach the two hockey players some tricks about skating with toe picks that help them too, and by the end of the session, Scott has them executing (very basic) lifts and twizzles.

\- - -

Tessa finds herself surprised at how good Ricky is with kids. She feels a little bad about it because he’s never given her any reason to suspect he wouldn’t be, but it’s never really come up. She thinks, as she watches him and Zach fool around with all four kids on the ice, that maybe it’s a little because he’s like an oversized kid himself.

It’s nearing the end of their ice time, and she’s seen a lot of improvement in their novice skater’s confidence over the past few hours. She thinks she would have been a little hesitant to skate with someone who wasn’t Scott at that age (and it wasn’t like she’d never had to either – they had both partnered with other people for dance tests during their teens but the thought of having to dance with someone she hardly knew on television would have paralyzed her). She thinks she still prefers skating with him now (actually, she knows this, but they’ve still got issues to resolve).

“Hey, Virtch?” Tessa turns around, already knowing who it is - even if she didn’t instantly recognize the voice, only one person has ever called her that. Scott is standing a few feet away, flanked by Lola and Madi and a gaggle of kids.

“Hey,” she replies, helpless to stop a smile breaking out across her face.

“What do you guys say to a pick-up game?”

“We’re in figure skates,” Zach yells from the ice before Tessa can answer.

Scott just laughs and raises his foot, “We’re all in figure skates, Zach,” he yells back, indicating his own blades.

Zach and Ricky both shrug at Tessa from the ice, so after a quick look at the eight kids they’ve amassed between them (and the eager faces staring back at her) and the pile of hockey sticks Charlie MacMillan is holding, she nods. “Okay, Moir, you’re on.”

It’s Madi who produces the mini beach ball as they take the ice. “No helmets, no puck,” she explains when she’s greeted by raised eyebrows from everyone on the ice. “Some of us are planning to get to the Olympics in two years and we don’t need a concussion getting in the way.”

Her declaration is met with laughs from the group, probably the intended effect, Tessa thinks – both for physical safety and to keep the atmosphere light.

Tessa will admit she’s a little worried about how this is going to go, both Scott and Ricky are competitive, and after their little ‘lift-off’ two weeks ago, she’s not sure them competing with one another one the ice is the best idea. Madison laughs as she glides to a stop next to Tessa, obviously noting the slight worry on Tessa’s face as she glances between Scott and Ricky.

“I think it’s Lola you’ve got to worry about, more than Scott anyway,” she tells her.

Tessa wants to deny she’s worried, but Madi’s comment surprises her. “Lola?”

Madison shrugs. “She was more than a little upset about The Goose. And I think she’s a little protective of Scott,” she explains simply.

Interesting, Tessa thinks, but she’s prevented from dwelling on in by Scott declaring his team is playing one way, and that they’re about to start, if Madi and Tessa are paying attention.

Rolling her eyes at his teasing, Tessa waves him to start and with a delighted look on his face, he tosses the ball into the air, waiting for it to come down amongst the kids in lieu of a more traditional puck drop.

\- - -

It’s been thirty minutes of ‘almost’ hockey, which Scott thinks really should be a thing (the ball is easier to hit but way less predictable than a puck, even for the professionals, adding a delightful degree of uncertainty) and Scott’s team are up six to five, mostly thanks to some ingenious plays by Mac and Lola. It’s all looking great for their team’s win until Tessa gets the ball and makes a break for it. She’s got a clear rink to the goal, and Scott is the only person close enough to have any chance of stopping her.

Acting on instinct, he’d dropped his stick (accidentally or on purpose he’ll never know) and raced after her. She’s near the goal by the time he catches her, but his presence is enough to startle her and send the ball sailing over the goal. What he does next, though, startles her even more.

Skating right behind her, he grabs her gently round the waist, lifting her off the ground.

“Scott,” she squeaks at him, clearly shocked at the contact, but not needing to look to know it’s him. She drops her stick and engages her core on instinct to help with the lift, and he starts slowly twirling them around on the ice.

Emboldened by her response, and with his lips at her ear, all he needs to do is whisper, “Roxanne,” and she clearly knows, instantly, that he means to turn their impromptu lift into the opening stationary lift from Moulin Rouge.

She whispers, “Okay,” back to him, a slightly giddy edge to her voice, and then he’s shifting her and spinning with her held out in front of him.

It’s not polished, or anywhere close to perfect, especially since they’re moving rather than standing still and he’s already holding her around the waist to start, but they make it work. And it’s wonderful. When Scott puts her back on the ice, she turns to face him and she’s beaming just as wide as he is.

In that moment, it had been the two of them on the ice. Ricky, Lola, Madi and Zac and Amy and Mac and the gaggle of kids the other end of the ice totally forgotten.

It’s not long, though, before cheering and whooping from the other side of the ice breaks their reprieve. Scott feels his cheeks burning and sees that Tessa’s are bright red, too, as they remember they aren’t alone. They skate back hand-in-hand, like they’ve just completed a program rather than a messy lift, a little sheepish, but smiling. The loud applause continues as they reach the others; Ricky jumping around and hollering for an encore he’s so excited and Scott is happy to note that even Lola is clapping (despite the rueful smile on her face).

\- - -

Choreographing a routine to a Disney song should feel a little juvenile (as in both too young for a thirty-something, and too much like what they had done as ‘juvenile’ skaters). However, between Lola, a self-confessed Disney superfan (a fact which somehow does not surprise Scott in the least) and Zoey and Jake sticking around to ‘help’ (read: express a lot of opinions), it’s actually been quite fun.

Scott will admit that he may have pouted when Zoey chose Tangled instead of Aladdin (it’s still his favorite Disney movie, okay?). He was exceedingly glad it wasn’t Frozen (his nieces have made him watch that with them too many times, ‘ _Let it Go’_ literally haunts his dreams), although Lola had playfully protested about how she was missing her chance to be Elsa (Scott doesn’t actually think she’s joking, but he’s too scared to ask). She’s settled for being Rapunzel, though, and she and Zoey have been dreaming up ideas about dresses all morning.

Scott would like to ignore the costume talk, but their ideas for choreography had been pretty good (Marie had helped them with how to work in electric candles in place of the floating lanterns from the movie) and so he feels obliged to participate in the conversation (he also wants to be very clear about what he will not wear himself).

Austin and Nika do actually choose Frozen for Madi and Mac, but Scott is grateful that through some fast bargaining they settle on Frozen II and _Into the Unknown_ rather than _Let it Go_ (he hasn’t forgiven _Pink Panther_ yet, and two weeks in a row would require a change of who they shared ice with; even Scott Moir has limits).

\- - -

On Friday night, Tessa Facetimes Jordan. Her sister protests that Tessa is delaying her fun night out, but she relents when Tessa points out that Jordan owes her for her surprise visit the week before.

“How’s the competition going?”

“Good, actually,” Tessa suspects she’s smiling like an idiot, but she doesn’t care.

Jordan quirks an eyebrow at her, waiting for an explanation.

“It’s Mini-Blades week, so we’ve been working with kids doing some coaching and workshops.”

“That sounds like hell,” Jordan is not known for her love of small children, or children in general.

Tessa rolls her eyes, nonplussed by her sister’s less than enthusiastic response. “Actually, it really was. We’ve got kids shadowing us for the week, and it’s been great. They’re so enthusiastic and keen to learn, Jo. It’s refreshing.” Jordan makes a humming noise in agreement, so Tessa keeps talking. “We even played hockey with them. Well, Scott suggested it …”

That gets Jordan’s attention. “Scott suggested it, huh?”

“Yeah. We played us against them.” Tessa is about to elaborate, but Jordan interrupts her.

“Tess, why didn’t you tell me he phoned you before he proposed?”

Tessa stares at Jordan through the phone. She knows she looks a little like a fish from the picture the selfie camera reflects back at her, but she can’t seem to do anything but open and close her mouth a little dumbly. “When did you speak to Scott?” is all she can think to ask.

“Last week, when I came up to visit.”

“Dammit, Jo. What did you do?”

It’s a rhetorical question, but Jordan answers it anyway. “Just had coffee with him.”

“Jordan,” Tessa whines. In truth, she’s terrified about what her sister may have said to Scott.

“We didn’t talk much, Tess,” Jordan concedes after a moment. “But I feel like there’s a longer story than either of you have been selling for the last year or two. Or twenty.”

Tessa rolls her eyes on instinct at the last sarcastic comment, but Jordan isn’t totally wrong about the rest.

“Tess, you need to talk to Scott,” Jordan sounds serious, but her tone is laced with a little understanding. “I know you needed the distance last year when everything went belly up, and I’m sure the distraction helped,” Tessa thinks she’s referring to Ricky, “but you need to talk to him before he’s actually married. That’s when it’s really too late.”

Tessa takes a moment to let what Jordan’s said sink in, but she’s saved from having to respond by the door opening and Ricky getting back from his run.

He gives Tess a smile and waves to Jordan when he sees she’s on Facetime. “Hey, Jordan,” Ricky yells enthusiastically from across the room. “Did Tess tell you about Mini Blades?” he asks as he makes his way closer to the phone.

“Yeah, they’ve got some pretty well-paid babysitters over in Montreal, I hear.”

“Ha,” Ricky scoffs a laugh. “I don’t know about that, but I think we made for some decent entertainment anyway. Did Tess tell you she and Scott were even showing off their lifts?”

Tessa cringes slightly, until she realizes there is absolutely no malice to his words - Ricky still just seems excited about it. Jordan looks a little shocked.

“Really?”

“It was nothing,” Tessa starts explaining.

“It was great,” Ricky’s smiling at Tessa. “It that’s what they can do after not working together for so long, they must have been amazing back in the day.”

Tessa wants to moan at him that six months ago wasn’t back in the day, but she’s a little taken aback at the warmth and awe in his voice. Ricky may be a little self-centered, but he can be really sweet, too. She’s also reminded how little he knows about figure skating (or her life before, really), because that lift had been messy and nowhere near their usual level.

That had been the appeal, initially. Someone who hardly knew anything about her life as an Olympic athlete (though he could still relate to the athlete part well). Spending time with Ricky was fun and uncomplicated and he had been good to her and for her.

Calling him a distraction seemed grossly unfair, because he had become a lot more than that over the past few months. She wants to say that these last four weeks had just thrown everything upside down, but she’s not sure if they just unearthed some feelings that she hadn’t buried as well as she’d thought. As Ricky and Jordan happily chat to each other, Tessa finds herself wishing she’d never agreed to Battle of the Blades, wishing for the uncomplicated post-retirement life she was carving out with Ricky before being back in Montreal blurred all the lines. But even as she thinks it, she knows it’s not true. Despite all the ways he complicates it, and how they’ve broken each other’s hearts again and again, she knows she still could never wish for a life without Scott in it.

Dammit, Jordan’s right. She really needs to talk to him.

\- - -

Mini Blades night turns out to be a resounding success. The kids all have a great time skating with some of their hockey and figure skating heroes in front of a packed audience, and they do a great job with only a couple of stumbles between them. The Disney dances are a hit, too – there’s something to skating programs where people are familiar with the story that helps them connect (and the lack of over-the-top costuming prevented it from feeling too much like Disney-On-Ice).

Scott has loved everything about Mini-Blades week. He thinks his favorite thing may have been the teaching the tiny CanSkate toddlers. One kid, who must have been barely three, had been so clumsy he’d barely been upright the entire lesson. But that hadn’t stopped him - every time he fell (which really was a lot), he’d been back up and trying again within a minute. It had been adorable and even a little inspiring.

Or maybe it was the coaching clinic with the pre-novice kids who knew a bit about ice dancing and were just delighted to skate with people they had watched on television. Watching the pre-teen girls meet Tessa or Madi or Kaitlyn, with starstruck looks on their faces, and absolute delight at the opportunity to learn from their heroes was amazing.

Or maybe it was watching Zoey come out of her shell over the week. She and Austin were really talented (Scott thought they might be a future team to watch and he wanted to chat to Patch about them), but watching her become more confident and happy to skate with Jake under their guidance was unbelievably rewarding, too.

Or maybe it was the impromptu lift with Tessa during the hockey match, and the giddy feeling that accompanied twirling her around the ice. That definitely helped, too.

Tessa, who he’s been trying hard not to think about the whole time since Tuesday, is currently dressed as Belle (Scott thinks she bribed the kids to choose Beauty and the Beast just so she could be Emma Watson) and still waiting to skate. She’s currently nervously fidgeting with her laces, even though they’re perfectly tied and secure (he knows, he watched her do it), which is one of her classic nervous tells. She and Ricky are the last to skate tonight and they’re up next.

“Hey, T. You okay?” he asks, taking the open seat next to her.

“Yeah,” she gives him a tight smile. “You guys skated well tonight. That routine was beautiful.”

“Thanks. The routine was all Marie. She’s a genius. And she’s thankfully forgiven me for trying to start a fight with my skating partner.”

“Why are you trying to start a fight with Lola, I thought you liked working with her,” the way her smile reaches her eyes this time means she knew exactly what he was talking about.

“Lola’s a great partner,” he says with a shrug. “But you know what I’m talking about.”

Tessa gives a small hum of agreement. Her eyes are closed, and she takes a deep breath before she starts speaking again. “It still feels weird, you know,” she tells him, her voice a little shaky. “Skating without you.”

Scott feels his heart pounding in his chest. “Yeah, I miss you out there, Tess.” _I miss you off the ice too_ , is on the tip of his tongue, but this isn’t the time to say that.

“Me too. I miss you, too,” she says it quietly, barely above a whisper, but Scott has never heard anything so clearly in his heart before. Acting on instinct, he stands up and reaches for her hand to pull her to her feet as well.

“Come here, kiddo,” he says, pulling her into a hug. It’s not quite _The Hug_ , but she falls against him easily and he can feel her starting to relax. They only stay like that for a moment before Emily is there to tell Tessa they need her on the ice in a minute.

Tessa’s smiling as she pulls back, “Thanks, Scott,” she says as she heads towards the ice.

“Anytime, T. Good luck out there.”

Yip. He loves everything about Mini-Blades week.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for another delay in posting. Hoping I can write a bit more this week.  
> Thank you all again for reading and for your comments and kudos!  
> Keep safe and keep well, everyone!!


	8. 8. Peace Talks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the very long delay ... work happened.  
> This is a little longer than most of the others, so hopefully that makes up for it.
> 
> As promised, Scott and Tessa finally talk (well, sort of)

# \- - Chapter Eight: Peace Talks - -

“All right, good morning everyone,” Kurt is all but hollering and Tessa thinks he’s way too enthusiastic for this time of the morning. He’s gathered all seven remaining couples (since Mini-Blades was a non-elimination week) for their usual weekly briefing, and true-to-form, he’s conducting it with his unique gusto. “How is everyone this morning?” She’s really hoping he’s not expecting a reply - it’s only seven, and it’s Monday, and she’s only had one cup of coffee; in her post-retirement life, she should not be expected to be awake yet, let alone show anything beyond vague interest. 

A tap at her elbow distracts her from Kurt’s greeting. It’s Scott. He’s busy taking the seat next to her while holding out a coffee cup to her. It’s from TT Café (one of her favourites) and it’s an almond milk cappuccino and it’s hot and amazing and she’s so grateful she thinks this is the moment she’d say yes to anything he asked.

“Looks like you need this,” he whispers, and she manages to get out a quiet ‘thank you,’ before Kurt continues his monologue.

“I want to start off by thanking all of you, because Mini Blades last week was a resounding success. Not only for the show, our numbers were higher than ever, and we raised over a hundred thousand dollars for inner city sports programs,” he pauses so everyone can sound suitably impressed, and some people even applaud (Tessa doesn’t even react until Scott gently nudges her with his knee, startling her into action). “But, also, because it was such a success that we’re looking into setting up some more permanent programs around the country to foster relationships between hockey players and figure skaters.” Tessa may be half asleep, but she doesn’t miss Ricky’s snigger at Kurt’s accidental double entendre (or the slight tensing to Scott’s jaw in response to both Kurt’s blunder and Ricky’s snigger, not that she’s watching him, or anything). Fortunately, Kurt saves her from any thoughts about that when he continues talking.

“This week, we’re going to be dancing to …,” he pauses, for dramatic effect (in her sleep deprived state, Tessa does not particularly appreciate the tactic). “Movie hits!” Kurt proclaims enthusiastically.

There’s a bit of a buzz among the competitors as they begin tossing ideas around. Kurt tries nobly to continue with the guidelines, but by the time Andrew Poje shouts “We call ‘Skyfall’,” on behalf of himself and his partner, Kurt just gives up.

Paul Poirier starts to protest that calling songs is unfair, but Andrew cuts him off cheerfully. “You got to be Bond for the Olympics. It’s my turn, now.”

A good-natured squabble breaks out between the two over who gets the song, with Zach chiming in too about how he would be even better as the iconic spy (this may also bring Kaitlyn and Madi into the argument about who could pull off a tux better).

“You should bring back your Austin Powers solo,” Tessa says quietly to Scott, who has surprisingly not gotten involved in the bickering.

Scott makes a choking noise. “I seriously don’t think that ever needs to see the light of day.”

“Come on, it would be great,” Tessa laughs at his horrified expression, which only intensifies when Lola chimes in from where she’s sitting next to Scott.

“The famous Austin Powers solo? Please tell me you still have video, Tessa?” Tessa wants to ask her how she even knows there is a video (it must be older than she is), but from what Scott has mentioned about Lola, she seems to know a lot about them.

“You,” Scott says pointedly looking at Lola, “are never going to see that.” Lola pouts, but she laughs when Scott bops her on the nose like she’s a small child.

“Fine,’ she concedes with a dramatic sigh. “What do you want to skate to, if not Austin Powers?”

“’Walk the Line’,” Scott says immediately. “Tessa always said ‘no’.”

Lola pulls a face, and Tessa is grateful her unenthusiastic response prevents her from having to defend herself (how does she explain that maybe she couldn’t face pretending to be Reese Whiterspoon in ‘Walk the Line’). “Um, no. Not that.” Tessa’s not sure if Lola doesn’t like the song or if she doesn’t like the idea of dancing to something he wanted to dance with her.

Scott looks like he might argue, but instead he says, “Alright, what are your ideas then?”

“Footloose,” Lola says enthusiastically. Scott ponders it for a moment, but Tessa knows the other woman has him hooked. That’s one of his favorite songs to dance to at a party – he will totally go for putting it on the ice.

“Okay,” Scott concedes with a nod. “But only if you can get all the steps down, on the ice.” Lola looks at him like that’s a stupid challenge (Tessa might agree with her, the younger woman skates amazingly well) and agrees with a smile.

“What are you guys thinking?” Lola turns to Tessa, and Ricky, who’s been watching the whole exchange where he’s seated next to Tessa, uncharacteristically quiet and a little rigid.

“I might have an idea or two,” Tessa answers coyly. “But it’s a surprise.” She’s not entirely sure why she said that, but she’s happy it elicits a smile from Scott.

“As long as it’s not ‘Funny Face’,” he tells her, a hint of seriousness behind his smile.

“Ha ha,” Tessa deadpans. “No. Something else entirely.”

Kurt manages to call some order back to discuss this week’s fluff pieces then, effectively ending the conversation. It’s not till they are about to leave fifteen minutes later that Scott taps her elbow again.

“I was thinking, maybe we could talk sometime this week?” he asks, looking a little pale.

“Yeah,” Tessa takes a second to work out what he means, they’ve been talking a fair bit this morning. Talk, as in _The Talk,_ she realizes belatedly. She steadies herself with a deep breath; she’s going to have to dive in at some point. “Sure,” she says with a confidence she doesn’t feel. “How about coffee on Thursday?”

“Sounds great,” Scott’s smile almost reaches his eyes. “See you on Thursday, Virtch.”

\- - -

“Maybe you could switch it,” Marie muses.

It’s Tuesday morning and they’ve been working for an hour at their _Footloose_ dance, but it just isn’t quite working out. Somehow, it always seems to be Scott in focus in a competition that’s supposed to be showing off Lola’s skills.

“Switch what?” Scott’s not opposed - something seriously needs to change with the routine - he’s just not sure he understands what she’s suggesting.

“Let’s switch it so Lola is the one leading you astray,” Marie says enthusiastically. When neither Scott nor Lola say anything, she elaborates. “In the movie, it is Ren who teaches Ariel to dance, no?” when they nod, she continues. “Now, Lola can be Ariel, teaching Ren to dance instead.”

Scott thinks about it for a second before agreeing. That would work well. They can even start the dance with Lola putting in a solo spin or something. “Yeah, yeah, I like it,” he’s nodding like an idiot. “That will be way better. Marie, you truly are a genius.”

His former coach blushes scarlet but shakes her head at him when he places an enthusiastic kiss on her cheek. Together, Scott and Marie work out some dance moves and a spin for Lola, who looks uncharacteristically nervous to be on the ice alone but agrees with a resolute nod of her head.

“You look happier,” Marie says to Scott as they watch Lola from the boards.

Scott hums in agreement.

“Maybe Lola is a good influence on you.”

Scott rolls his eyes. “Lola is a terrible influence.”

Marie laughs, as he had intended. “Maybe so. Perhaps it is having something to focus on, then,” she postulates.

Scott shrugs a noncommittal agreement with that.

“And it’s nice to see you and Tessa talking again.” Marie says it conversationally, but Scott knows his former coach. There is a hidden agenda here.

“It’s not exactly how it was, Marie.”

“No,” she concedes, entirely nonplussed by his disagreement. “But I think that maybe you don’t really want it to be exactly how it was.”

Scott wonders, not for the first time, if Marie can read minds or if she has some other secret superpower that allows her to be so perceptive.

“You know, Scott,” she continues, her voice filled with affection. “I don’t think Tessa wants it to be like it was, either.” She fixes him with a look before calling out to Lola, and leaving Scott staring after them, open mouthed and lost for words.

\- - -

This is the most awkward encounter Scott has had since Tessa returned to Canton after the first surgery (and that includes the time Tessa walked in on him and Jess fooling around on his couch in Canton – and the week that followed when Scott refused to tell her that the real reason he and Jess had finally, _finally_ , ended things was because she’d been upset Tessa had a key to his place and she didn’t).

For all their acknowledging they need to talk, neither of them seems to know where to start, and it’s left them staring awkwardly at each other coffee and croissants.

They’re at the Noblé Café, a coffee shop they commonly frequented on their days off when they were still training in Montreal. It’s comforting, being somewhere so familiar, but it also makes it feel a little like they’re more on display than Scott would like for this particular conversation. Rationally, he knows this is not true, because they are hidden away in the back corner, protected from prying eyes and ears, but he’s been edgy all morning and the caffeine isn’t helping. Neither is the fact that Tessa looks like the epitome of calm (seriously, couldn’t she look just a little bit nervous about this?).

He realizes she is nervous when she speaks, though. They’ve been staring at each other for a few minutes, picking at their food and both waiting for the other to speak, when she eventually takes a deep breath and dives in. Scott would think it was exasperation behind it, if not for the shake to her voice giving her away. She’s as scared as he is (and that both reassures and devastates him).

“I feel like I should say I’m sorry, again,” she says quietly.

Scott raises an eyebrow. He’s not sure what she’s apologizing for.

“For ‘The Goose’,” she clarifies quickly. “I never should have let Ricky talk me into it. It was ours and I really wasn’t trying to hurt you, or anything.”

She looks so contrite that Scott almost laughs. Almost. “It’s okay, Tess. Well, I mean it isn’t, really, because it _is_ ours,” he may slightly overemphasize the ‘is’. “But I get it, sort of. We were hardly talking and it’s not like we’ve been acting like partners these past few months.”

He pauses for a minute, gathering his thoughts, before resolving to be brave and forge ahead. “Hell, I wasn’t even sure we were still friends.”

Tessa looks stricken. “I never wanted to stop being your friend,” she tells him quietly.

Scott sighs heavily. “I know, T. I know I didn’t handle anything particularly well in November.”

Tessa shrugs a little. It’s not forgiveness, but there’s a little understanding behind it. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner,” it’s barely a whisper but Scott hears her loud and clear. She’s talking about telling him she loved him. How it had only taken her eighteen months to echo what he’d been saying from the moment they stepped of the podium in PyeongChang.

“Yeah,” he says, letting out a heavy sigh. “You have no idea how much I wish you’d told me sooner.” When Tessa nods sadly, he hastily adds, “I get it, though. And I’m sorry I overreacted.” He rolls his eyes at himself. Because telling her he wanted to end the partnership and retire had been nothing short of overreaction.

“I just lashed out and I really hadn’t meant to,” he looks down at his coffee, studying the dark liquid like it’s the most interesting thing in the world. “It just felt like you waited until you knew it didn’t matter to tell me.” What he doesn’t add, what he wants to add, so damn badly, is that it would always matter.

Tessa stares at him, “That’s not what it was, Scott.”

He chuckles, but it’s mirthless. “I know. I know that, now. And I’m sorry I couldn’t realize it then. And that I hurt you because of that.”

Tessa gives him a small shrug, accepting his apology.

“You look happy,” he tells her. “And as much as I have had my doubts, I’m glad I agreed to this ridiculous show, if it means I get to see you, again,” and he means it, even if it means seeing her happy with Ricky. “Retiring from skating, well that was one thing, and it’s been hard, but I knew it was coming at some point. But loosing you, Tess, that’s nearly killed me,” he’s talking around a lump in his throat and he needs to get it together or he’s going to find himself crying in public.

Tessa nods sadly. Her eyes a little wet. But she gives him a moment to collect himself.

Scott is trying to decide exactly how to say what he needs to next. But how does one tell your platonic skating partner and best friend of twenty years, who you rejected six months ago, that that was the worst mistake of your life and you’ve never stopped being in love with her, and that she should leave her new (perfectly nice) boyfriend for you even though you told her no when she asked you to break things off with your fiancé? Because you really think there is something between the two of you, and you know that your life just isn’t the same without her by your side. Hell, he doesn’t even think she knows he’s getting not married (or that he never wants to marry anyone who isn’t her), how can he convince her he will never stop loving her.

Maybe just like that, all of that, messy and blundering but honest and true, he resolves, and he takes a deep breath before starting what could be the most important speech of his life.

Only he doesn’t get to give it.

Just as he starts to speak, his phone starts to ring. It’s sitting on the table between them, and Scott is about to silence it, cursing the damn thing and technology in general, when he registers that it’s an international call. With a Florida area code. He only knows one person in Florida well enough to call him, and her number is still saved in his phone. But even though they haven’t spoken in months, she may not have updated her emergency contact details, and with that in mind, he knows he can’t leave it, just in case.

He glances at Tessa as he picks up the phone, wanting to explain, but she’s already standing up, apologizing and saying that she has to get back for her practice with Ricky and promising she’ll see him soon. She’s out of the coffee shop so quickly Scott barely has time to register that the voice on the other end of the line does not sound to be calling about anything urgent at all. In fact, it’s the manager from the gym in Tampa he’s been trying to cancel his membership with, for months now. Scott swears under his breath – he supposes he should be glad the guy finally called him back, but right now he’s a little dumbstruck that the guy that manages the _fucking_ Tampa gym may have just interrupted the most important conversation of his life.

Shaking his head, he tries to explain why he needs to cancel the membership, trying not to let his anger boil over. He can’t help feeling that the stupid gym may have just cost him way more than the monthly membership fees he’s been paying unnecessarily since December.

\- - -

Tessa has felt a little off kilter since her coffee with Scott. Okay, that’s a lie. She’s felt like her entire world shifted on its axis as she sipped her almond milk cappuccino. She can’t shake the feeling that she’d interrupted a declaration. She’s not sure what, exactly, just that it felt like he was building up to something big. And true to style, she had panicked and run.

She’s been trying not to focus on it too much on the ice. Off ice there was no way she could not think about it – she’s pretty sure she slept a grand total of five minutes last night – because there is no way Scott was going to issue the declaration of love she’s been telling herself she doesn’t want (but actually might) as he’s calmly accepting calls from his fiancé. Clearly Kaitlyn was wrong about him being back in Ilderton, and wrong about him being single. Jordan was wrong, too, about it not being too late, she thinks bitterly. The worst part is she doesn’t even know why she’s worrying about any of this, because she _is_ happy with Ricky and it shouldn’t matter. Except it does. And it’s exhausting, but she can’t seem to stop herself from wondering what might have happened if his phone never rang or if she didn’t bolt.

Ricky touches her gently on the arm, shaking her from her thoughts. He raises an eyebrow at her, gently checking that everything is okay, and she gives him a smile and actively focuses her attention back on the ice. All thoughts of Scott can wait.

She and Ricky had decided on a Dirty Dancing routine (Ricky absolutely loved her _Time of My Life_ suggestion) for Movie week and Tessa is really impressed with how it’s coming together. They’ve been working with Jeffrey Buttle, who is still one of her favorite people ever, and what they’ve managed to choreograph together is pretty and yet still powerful. It also has some fairly intricate lifts that are way beyond anything they’ve done in the past (well, ‘ _The Goose’_ excluded, perhaps, but these have been way sturdier than their first week), but they’ve been mostly managing to make them work. Tessa’s genuinely proud of how much Ricky has learnt over the past few weeks, and despite some moments of apprehension (and thoughts of her previous – real? - skating partner creeping, unbidden, into her head incessantly since their coffee ‘date’ yesterday), she’s glad she’s been able to share this experience with him.

Right now, they’re working on the last lift. It’s derived from the famous lift in the movie, modified a little because they can’t do overhead lifts in ice dance (Rickey keeps saying ‘there’s no overheads in ice dance’, in what he thinks is a clever play on the League of Their Own ‘there’s no crying in baseball’ quote – to his great disappointment, neither she nor Jeff had been particularly impressed). Instead of lifting her above his head, Ricky is now resting Tessa on his shoulder before spinning and then dropping her to his arms and swinging her around, held fairly high off the ice. They’ve been struggling with the transition in the middle of it a little, but it will provide a great ending to the piece and Tessa really wants to get it right (she’s never denied being a perfectionist).

So, even though Ricky protests exhaustion, and their ice time is nearly up, and she’s still a little distracted by thoughts of her conversation with Scott, once Ricky puts her back on the ice after the fifteenth go at the lift, she simply says, “Again,” and when he gives her a small nod, that’s what they do.

\- - -

Scott and Lola had skated first tonight. And their _Footloose_ routine went off perfectly. Lola was fantastic and the audience went crazy when they were done. The judges had been impressed too – delighted by from the skilled dancing to the ‘classic’ costuming (read denims and white t-shirts for both of them) and the original choreography put onto ice. They had scored the highest marks of the season and Scott is currently riding the high of a job well done (also, it’s way easier than focusing on how close he was to telling Tessa everything on Thursday, only to stuff it up so spectacularly).

The mood backstage is fairly relaxed tonight – everyone’s settled into the routine (and their routines) and while there is still a lot of betting and good-natured trash talk (slightly generous term for what they are actually doing, Scott thinks), they’re all starting to have fun with the competition.

Kaitlyn is busy trailing after Andrew, who is dressed in a tuxedo and totally channeling James Bond for his Skyfall routine (Scott thinks they should just face facts and admit that they love each other, already, because they aren’t fooling anyone, but when he voiced this to Lola she stared at him with a look that could render a lesser man tearful and made a comment about pots and kettles name-calling and he thought it best to just keep quiet).

“Oh, man, I’m going to be skating an exhibition to Taylor Swift all season, aren’t I?” Zach says from where he’s standing next to Scott. They’re in front of the monitor, watching Madi and Mac perform. Scott smiles at what is probably an accurate assessment of Zach’s future. Madi had been amazing the whole competition, but tonight, she and Mac have been flawless. It seems likely that she’ll beat Zach and win their bet if they keep skating like this (he’s secretly starting to think Madi and Mac are his and Lola’s biggest competition).

“Maybe you can convince her to change her mind?”

“Huh,” Zach does not sound convinced. “Madi is nothing if not stubborn. She’ll insist.”

“I’m sure you’ll work something out,” Scott tells him, although he’s pretty sure Madi’s going to stick to her guns on this one. “But if she keeps skating like that, you should let her skate to whatever she wants.”

Zach hums in agreement as they watch Madi perfectly execute a non-touching step sequence.

“Yeah,” Lola adds from the other side of Scott when Madi and Mac have assumed their ending positions. “At this point, you should just be grateful if she doesn’t replace you with Mac.”

Zach grabs his chest over his heart, miming a mortal wound and Scott has to laugh when Lola just sticks her tongue out at him. He puts his arm around Lola’s shoulders as the judges award Madi and Mac some well deserved high marks (marks that tie with him and Lola, actually) and he thinks how much fun this competition can be when they’re all relaxed and enjoying each other’s company (and not being overly competitive, he has to remind himself).

In fact, the only person who looks a little uptight is Tessa. Scott is used to seeing her nervous before a program. Even during the comeback when she got good at hiding it from everyone else, he always knew just how anxious she was before taking the ice. She hadn’t seemed too bad for most of this competition (maybe because it’s not a “real” competition), but tonight she seems out of sorts, and he’s more than a little worried about her.

He’s been struggling a bit with how to act around her since their coffee on Thursday. He can’t help wondering exactly what he would have said if his phone hadn’t rung, and how she might have reacted, and he’s been oscillating between relief and disbelief since it started ringing in the middle of what could only have turned into a messy declaration of love. Shrugging off his thoughts about the other day and forcing himself to focus instead on what’s happening right now, he decides that maybe a bit of talking and a familiar face might help Tess relax a little.

He’s about to go over to her when Madi and Mac arrive back in chaotic flurry of hugs and smiles and by the time he’s congratulated them, Emily is leading Tessa and Ricky to the tunnel. He calls a ‘good luck,’ out to her as they pass, and she gives him a slightly tight-lipped smile of thanks in return.

Scott watches the monitor with Lola and Madi and Zach. Tessa had told them which song she and Ricky had chosen at group practice, and Scott finds himself smiling as the music starts, because he can picture how great the routine is going be before it even starts. Despite his much-publicized love of rom-coms, _Dirty Dancing_ has never been his favorite, but he’s excited to see how Tessa and Jeff interpreted the music and the classic scene anyhow.

Tessa and Ricky don’t disappoint. Tessa is breathtaking as ever and even Scott has to begrudgingly concede that Ricky is skating better than he has the whole competition. The choreography is clever, and it showcases Ricky’s evolving ice dance skills well (a feat easily enabled by the fact that when Tessa is on the ice, no one can take their eyes off her, Scott most definitely included in that).

The other skaters all crowd around the monitor as the routine heads to its climax. It’s been close to perfect until now and they only have the last lift to go.

Almost like a vision, or _de ja vu_ , Scott feels like he sees it going wrong before it does. And he’s powerless to do anything about it. He sees Ricky’s grip on Tessa loosen in the transition. He sees how it’s not the correct hold as he spins her around. Frozen in horror, he watches as Tessa realizes all too late what’s happening. Her entire body stiffening against the inevitable crash as Ricky’s grip slips entirely and she flies to the ice.

The fall is hard, and jarring, and unexpected with how they had been skating and it’s a bit like watching Marie fall in Tornio all over again. Except it’s worse this time, way, way worse. Because this is _his_ Tessa and he should never have let her skate with anyone else.

She seems to lie on the ice for an eternity. Dark hair and pale pink dress splayed out and she looks small and vulnerable and if she is injured in any way Scott is going to kill Ricky Munroe.

“She’s okay,” Madi is squeezing his shoulder and on his other side, Lola grips his hand, but the entirety of Scott’s focus is on Tessa, as she looks up from the ice confused for a moment, before messily scrambling to her feet and meeting Ricky for the ending pose. She’s clearly shocked and very obviously sore and Scott wants nothing more than to run onto that ice right now and pull her close to him (and never let her go).

The judges are kind, despite the fall, but Scott hears nothing of what they have to say. The second Ricky starts guiding Tessa gingerly off the ice, he’s off like a shot down the tunnel, barely heeding Emily’s warning to stop before the arena entrance.

Tessa is shaking as she reaches him, and with a glare at Emily (who he normally likes a lot) for stopping him getting to Tessa sooner, Scott pulls her to him. He keeps running his hands along her body, as though trying to assure himself she’s in one piece. She’s taken many falls on the ice before, but she’s never fallen out of a lift (thank you very much) and he can feel the fear and shock radiating off her, so he just holds her, even when he feels her tears wetting his shoulder.

“Tess, oh my God, are you okay. I’m so sorry. Tess, look at me, I don’t know what happened,” Ricky is hovering next to them, clearly concerned and feeling guilty but Scott doesn’t give a dam about him right now.

“Are you okay?” Scott asks in a whisper at her ear.

“Hurts,” Tessa manages to mumble to him, but she nods against his shoulder so he finally lets go of the breath he’s been holding.

The show medics descends upon them a moment later, but Tessa is reluctant to let go of Scott (and he feels exactly the same). Scott starts to lead a limping Tessa backstage for the medics to look at her, but she whimpers every time she puts weight on her left leg, so after a moment of internal debate, he scoops her up into his arms, bridal style, like one of their early lifts, and carries her. Kaitlyn and Ricky and most of the others follow despite Emily’s protesting that they’re needed back on the ice for the results after the next skate.

Scott has never loved Madi more than when she looks Emily in the eye and says calmly that the hockey players will go out for the results alone tonight. The PA sighs and calls the producer when Lola joins Madison in this fight. As he moves Tessa into one of the dressing rooms for the medics to evaluate her, Scott resolves bring them coffee and Timbits every morning till the end of the show in thanks (Lola later tells him that Ricky put up a bit of a fight, but that Zach had stopped him quietly by telling him to give Tessa some time and Scott resolves to add him to the coffee list too).

It takes a while for Dave and Jane, the set medics, to finish prodding at Tess and recommend x-rays of her ankle; she caught it when she hit the ice and it’s what seems to be bothering her the most now the initial shock has worn off. She’s at least looking less pale by the time the EMTs are done (probably thanks in part to the chocolate bar Kaitlyn had thrust her way). Fortunately, neither of them (or Kaitlyn, who has hovered near her friend with almost as much dedication as Scott) are needed to dance again. By the time the show ends and Paul Poirier and his partner are having to say their goodbyes, Scott is driving Tess (and Ricky, who is still apologizing profusely and who Scott would have much rather left at the arena) to the hospital, hoping that it’s just a sprain and nothing more serious.

As he pulls up to the hospital, Scott can’t help thinking, not for the first time, that this show really is the worst idea ever.


	9. 9. Rules of Engagement

# \- - Chapter Nine: Rules of Engagement - -

“Seriously?” Scott says to Lola. They’re sitting in the stands at Gadbois where Kurt has just adjourned the Monday meeting after announcing the theme. “Music through the ages?” Scott knows he’s pulling a face, but he doesn’t care. “Why can’t it just be country week? Or Canada week? Or, hell, even Disney week again?”

Lola gives him a look that says she is not in the mood for his whining. Admittedly, he has been whining all morning. First it was the hot coffee he burned his tongue on. Then it was about the traffic on the drive in. And now, Kurt’s presented them with more drawing out of hats and limited song selections and he’s just not in the mood for another of Kurt’s elaborate ideas this morning. He’s tired. It had been late by the time they left the hospital the night before and he’s barely slept.

Also, he’s fixating, admittedly lot more than necessary, on the small annoyances in his life like over-hot coffee and musical themes because that’s a lot easier than focusing on other, more poignant things. Or really one other, particularly big, thing that is both exhilarating and terrifying in equal measure (although, right now terror might be winning).

The _thing_ is that with Paul Poirier and his partner out after Movie week, there are now six teams left in the competition. This means there is more time to fill during the live broadcast. Poirier leaving also means, that by some chance, the six couples left happen to comprise three ice dance teams (well, two teams and one former team, Scott thinks, if anyone is going to be technical about it, which he is hoping Tessa is not).

Naturally, this has not escaped the notice of Kurt Browning and the producers. He could practically hear Kurt’s giddy tone in the email he’d gotten way too early this morning informing him of the plan to feature exhibition skates from the three “professional” couples. Scott can understand their excitement – he knows that even two years out of the Olympics, a Virtue and Moir routine will bump their ratings, not to mention that Kaitlyn and Andrew are incredibly popular in Canada and Zach and Madi are one of the top teams currently competing. So, it’s a great opportunity for the show.

And ordinarily, he’d be excited to skate with Tess again, especially after the progress they had made in repairing their friendship over the last few weeks. However, there is one small complication (that terrifying thing that’s going to keep Scott up all week, and possibly the main reason he’s been whining to Lola all morning). Scott and Tessa are once again not talking.

And this time it is entirely Tessa’s fault. Totally one hundred percent (at least ninety percent).

It had started at the hospital last night, where many x-rays and a few hours of waiting later, the doctor was happy to report that Tessa just had a sprain and with some rest and anti-inflammatories she would be fine.

The relief that had followed the doctor’s pronouncement had been short-lived. The first argument, about skating this week, had started almost immediately after the doctor had left them. Tessa’s definition of rest was clearly not the same as Scott’s. As far as he was concerned, there was no way two days off the ice even counted as rest. Unfortunately, twenty-two years of knowing Tessa had apparently taught him nothing, because rather than state his (totally correct) opinion and leave it be, he had continued to argue with her after she told him, quite firmly, that it was her decision (and it was, even if it was a stupid one). Her insistence that she had skated in worse pain before had not helped matters, though. The round and around arguing about skating had only ended when it culminated in their second, and even bigger, argument.

That one had been about Ricky. It originated about Tessa skating with Ricky, and if it somehow morphed into Tessa being with Ricky, Scott didn’t even care anymore. Even now, almost twelve hours later, Scott cannot get over how happily she ran back to _him_ , despite his apparent inability to look out for her. She had been a little too quick to defend _him_ , assuring Scott that it wasn’t like Ricky had dropped her on purpose (for the record, he never said that), and that she couldn’t help the fact that Scott never liked anyone she went out with (that may be true, but he didn’t think she knew that, and it was beside the point, because _he dropped her_ ). And somehow, in the whole messy argument, that had them almost yelling at each other in a (thankfully deserted) hospital hallway, Scott still can’t work out how he became the bad guy. Scott had spent a lifetime not dropping her, Ricky couldn’t even make it eight weeks (and no, Tessa had not appreciated that comment, not at all), and somehow, he’s the one in the wrong.

And now she’s not talking to him (and he’s going to be a child about it and not talk to her, either). He just can’t understand why it’s one step forward and two leaps backwards every time. She had barely even looked at him this morning, when they arrived at the same time and he held the rink door open for her to limp through - and he’s pretty sure she made more of a point of leaning on Ricky for support than she really needed as she walked in, too.

Skating together this week is going to be a mess.

He sighs heavily now as he thinks about it. Lola gives him a questioning look, but he shakes his head, not really feeling ready to talk about it, although he’s pretty sure she won’t be deterred that easily. Fortunately, he’s saved from her inevitable interrogation by Kurt calling their names to pick their decade.

A few minutes later, when Lola unfolds the paper to reveal “1970’s”, Scott tries his best to hide his emotions, but despite years of media training, in his sleep-deprived state he can’t and he’s sure the face he pulls will be turned into a meme by the next morning. This is going to be the longest week of his life.

“The only way I will believe there is justice in this world is if Tessa picks the 2000’s. Or at least the nineties,” he tells Lola petulantly as soon as they’re off camera.

\- - -

Tessa is sitting in the stands flanking the smaller of the two Gadbois rinks, watching Ricky practicing patterns on the ice. Her injured leg is propped up on the seat in front of her, and she has a notebook open, doodling out ideas for a routine for them. She still cannot believe Ricky managed to pick the 2000’s. With the seventies or eighties, she felt like she had plans, but not so much with the modern stuff.

None of Ricky’s song suggestions had been particularly appealing, either. Somehow, picking a song had dissolved into a surprisingly heated argument (those seemed to be going around lately), which had only been resolved when Jeff Buttle had stepped in and picked something for them.

Tessa’s happy enough with Jeff’s suggestion (it’s way better than anything Ricky came up with), but she is a little worried about getting the work done this week. She’s off the ice until Wednesday, which is cutting it a little fine for the show, especially considering she’s got a routine with Ricky and one with Scott this week.

In a totally unexpected turn of events, the it’s routine with Scott that’s worrying her even more than the one with Ricky. It doesn’t count for the competition, and it will probably be tamer than anything they’ve done for years, but she’s still struck petrified at the thought of sharing the ice with him again (what she steadfastly refuses to unpack is her worry that it might make her realize just how much she’s missed skating with him, and being around him, just in time for her to lose him all over again when the music stops). They had been in a good, albeit it undefined, place until the show last week, and even after, when she had sought him out in her moment of vulnerability and it had felt like 2018 all over again (if she thought hard about it, it felt exactly right, her in his arms). It had gone wrong so quickly from there that Tessa’s not even sure what happened.

She is convinced, though, that it’s his fault.

Scott had always been protective of her, on and off the ice - to a highly annoying degree most of the time. But he’s gone too far this time. She’s not a child and she doesn’t need him watching over every little thing she does. And she definitely does not need him butting into her relationship with Ricky. She thought they were passed that. Their fight at the hospital had been a weird rehashing of old fights mixed with new dynamics, but it remained as unsettling and upsetting as fighting with Scott always did.

They had both cooled off overnight, but he had been frosty towards her at the Monday morning meeting. She doesn’t think he’d answered her with more than two syllables they entire time she tried to arrange a practice for their routine.

It’s frustrating beyond measure that it always seems to land in a fight lately.

\- - -

If they are going to be stuck with the ‘70’s, at least they are going to have an epic routine, Scott decides. It was Marie who suggested ‘Imagine’, and Scott is so glad that it in no way resembles pop or disco he had agreed instantaneously (plus, it is one of the most powerful songs ever written, so really it was a no brainer). While ‘Footloose’ last week had been upbeat, this week they are keeping it lyrical. The program is flowy, and light, and Scott thinks it would make a great exhibition piece (not that he’s got much call to skate those anymore, but maybe someday).

By Thursday morning, the routine is pretty settled, they’re just having to practice it like crazy – they’re getting to the sharp end of the competition, and Scott is still as determined as ever to win. The relaxation that comes with of not having to actively work on the choreography is providing him with a little too much time to think, though. He’s skating with Tess later today, and the conflicting dread and excitement he’s feeling may be distracting him a little. Lola, surprisingly, seems to have decided to give him space to work out his Tessa issues and general grumpiness, and aside from a snide comment of ‘Well that explains a lot,’ after witnessing his and Tess’s stilted conversation about their routine on Monday morning, she’s left the issue alone.

“I know it’s an unusual choice, but I always thought this would be a good song for a first dance at a wedding,” Lola says, entirely out of the blue in the middle of their run through, shaking Scott from his thoughts of Tessa. “You should consider it for your wedding,” she adds, and that’s so out left field that Scott can’t even attempt to keep himself up when he catches a toe pick as he tries to stop suddenly. Fortunately, it’s a relatively soft fall, his pride more wounded than anything physical as he sails across the ice on his stomach. He brushes ice off himself as he stands up and turns towards Lola. She’s stopped skating and is now staring at him with one eyebrow raised.

“Okay, that was dramatic, even for you,” she tells him, and he rolls his eyes at her. “It was just a suggestion, it’s not like I’m saying you have to choose it or anything.”

Scott opens his mouth to say something, he has no idea what, when Lola carries on instead.

“I am invited to the wedding, right?” Scott is staring at her, open mouthed, although this does nothing to deter Lola. “What’s with the look? I mean, I know it’s only been a few weeks, but as your best friend, I feel like I should at least be at the wedding.” He thinks he should correct her on the best friend thing, but that seems the least of his concerns right now. Lola just keeps talking. “I suppose it would be weird if I haven’t met your fiancé yet,” she concedes, and Scott is hoping that means she’s done with the topic. As per usual with Lola, she is very much not done. “You need to introduce me to her, Scott.”

She’s staring at him expectantly, her entire face lit up with excitement over her idea.

Scott figures there’s no avoiding the topic, not now that she’s brought it up so plainly. “I’m not really sure that’s a possibility,” he tells her and annoyance flashes across her face before he continues. “I haven’t spoken to her since December, actually,” he admits after a moment. “We kinda, I mean we …” he searches for the right way of saying it. “We’re not together anymore. We’re not getting married.”

The look of shock on Lola’s face is priceless. Scott almost wishes he could pull out his phone and photograph it.

“Oh,” she says eventually. “I’m sorry,” her voice is quieter than he’s heard since he met her. “I didn’t know.”

Scott shrugs. “It’s okay. I haven’t really felt like talking about it.”

Scott watches Lola as she takes a moment to process what he’s just told her. She’s staring out across the rink, clearly trying to formulate a response and her silence is so uncharacteristic that he really wants to elaborate, if only to end the awkward quiet that’s settled over them.

It feels like an eternity later (in reality, it’s less than a minute) when she turns back to him. “I have one question, and then I won’t pry anymore,” Lola tells him. Scott does not think for a minute that she will be able to stick to it, but he appreciates the sentiment.

“What the hell happened during Rock the Rink?”

\- - -

“You know, you didn’t have to agree to skating with me if you’re this angry with me.”

Scott wants to point out that at the moment he’s not actually skating _with_ her, so much as matching her strokes as they skate, separately, around the perimeter of the rink. Instead, he summons a calm he didn’t think he possessed and tells Tessa “I’m not angry with you.”

“Really?” she’s got an eyebrow raised at him, like she can see right through him. And twenty-three years later, she probably can.

“Drop it, Tess,” it’s a plea, more than a demand. He can’t rehash this argument.

“Because it seems like you’re angry with me, and I don’t see why there is anything you get to be angry about.”

Fine, if she’s not going to drop it, he’ll take the bait. “Are you really telling me you’re okay with all this, Tessa?”

“Skating with you? Well I have a signed contract that says I have to.”

Scott ignores the dig. “Skating at all, this week,” he says so softly that she stops moving and turns to look at him.

“I’m fine, Scott.”

“Yeah? Then how come you don’t have a single lift that isn’t on Ricky’s boots or has you more than three inches off the ground? We did way more complicated moves long before Canton.”

He knows he’s got her when she doesn’t respond. He really wants to gloat about being right, for once, but the second he sees her face, he sobers. She looks scared.

“You don’t have to do anything, Tess,” he says softly, as he makes his way towards her.

“Yeah, I do,” she smiles a little wryly. Scott starts to protest, but she cuts him off. “Getting up when you fall and all that. Besides, I trust you, Scott.” She doesn’t have to add that he’d never let her get hurt on the ice – they both know that.

Scott studies her face for a moment, eventually quirking his lips into a small smile when he sees the determined set to her eyes. “Yeah, okay.”

They continue stroking around the rink, easily matching each other’s strokes like they never parted, and like they aren’t currently arguing. There’s a sense of peace that comes with it – being on the ice together – a satisfaction like the last piece being placed in a puzzle. Scott reaches for her hand then, satisfied that they can both ignore all other issues when they’re on the ice. “So, how do you feel about some of our _Pink Floyd_ lifts?” he smiles wider when she elbows him in the ribs.

“Actually, I was thinking we should go with _Long Time Running_ for the show.”

Scott smiles widely, then. “Yeah. I like it, it’s fitting.”

\- - -

“Tess,” Ricky whines, sounding like a small child and it makes Tessa cringe. “Do we seriously have to go to this thing?”

“Yes, we do,” this is not the first time they’ve been over this. “Patrick is one of my oldest friends, and he and Liz are only here for the week.” Chiddy and Liz are in Montreal because he’s been asked to guest judge on Battle of the Blades this week. Tessa’s super excited to see them both since she hasn’t seen them since the tour ended in Vancouver (and she’s quietly hoping there might be an engagement announcement, too).

Ricky is scowling where he sits at the end of the bed. He’s only half dressed, and while normally Tessa might enjoy the opportunity to admire the impressive chest and torso left on display by his unbuttoned shirt, right now she’s a little too annoyed at him. He’s been pouting all day about having to go to dinner, and she’s tired of him acting childish.

“It’s one dinner. You’ll love Patrick and Liz, and you already get on with Kaitlyn and Andrew.”

“Well, you’ll forgive me if I don’t particularly look forward to spending and evening with you and Scott,” Ricky retorts.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Tessa whips around to look at him so fast she just about gives herself whiplash.

“Don’t play dumb, Tess, you’re way too smart for that” Ricky’s tone has an uncharacteristic meanness to it.

“Scott and I are just friends.” Maybe, she’s not so sure they are right now. “Besides, he’s getting married in a couple of months.” She thinks. She’s not actually sure when the wedding is.

“Really? That screaming match at the hospital last night was really just about skating? Just some _friends_ disagreeing about sport?”

Tessa’s not entirely sure what he means by that but she can infer his meaning, well enough. “Yeah, Ricky. We’re just friends.”

Ricky just makes a harrumphing sound.

Tessa sighs, but she stands up straighter as she checks her hair in the mirror one last time. “You don’t have to come with me, but I’m going to see my friends tonight,” she tells Ricky with an air of finality.

\- - -

For a brief moment, telling Lola about his broken engagement had felt liberating. It didn’t take long, however, for Scott to wonder why he ever thought that. In typical Lola fashion, it hadn’t taken her long to recover from the shock of finding out and move on to a (seemingly single-minded) quest for answers (despite her earlier declaration of staying out of it). And when Scott hadn’t provided any to her satisfaction, she had started speculating. He’s not sure if she genuinely believes the crazy theories she’s been coming up with, or if her master plan is to annoy him into telling her the truth. Either way, just this morning he’s heard everything from secret love child (again – he told her to get more creative) to shotgun wedding to secret affair (Lola’s theories involve a lot of secrets, apparently).

Apparently Lola’s dedication to finding out why Scott left his fiancé is matched only by her excitement about a Team Canada (almost) reunion dinner (‘I get to meet Chiddy,’ she had practically squealed when Scott asked her if she’d like to join them). She’d babbled excitedly the whole way over tonight, interspersing factoids about Patrick’s career with possible scenarios about Rock the Rink.

By the time they make it to the restaurant, fashionably late as usual, Scott is exhausted. He’s delighted when meeting Chiddy provides some much-needed distraction from Lola, and he’s glad she makes friends with everyone there quickly (even if it comes at the expense of many jokes about him). Tessa raises her eyebrows when she sees him walk in with Lola, but she makes no comment and gives them both a friendly smile.

The evening passes the way it always seems to when they manage to get together, too quickly and with an abundance of alcohol and good stories. By the time their entrées arrive, Lola is happily regaling the others with a highly over-dramatized version of Scott falling in practice yesterday (she is at least kind enough not to mention why he landed up flat on the ice, and for that reason alone he smiles at her teasing as she spins her tall tale).

The only person who doesn’t seem to be enjoying the evening is Ricky, who’s spent most of the evening with a scowl on his face and looking more than a little put out. Tessa, at least, seems to be ignoring Ricky’s prickliness, and enjoying her evening with her friends. Scott does catch her flicking quick, confused looks between Lola and himself a few times, which he thinks is both unusual and intriguing.

It’s late by the time they leave – late enough that they’re the last party left in the restaurant. After they all say goodbye outside, a long a protracted affair as per usual when they’re all together.

“That was a fun evening,” Lola tells Scott as he drives them back afterwards. “Thanks for bringing them along.”

Scott smiles. “Yeah, it was a good evening.”

They’re stopped at a red light when Lola speaks again. “Scott,” she says quietly. “I know I’ve spent a lot of time bugging you about what happened with Tessa, and it’s not really my place, but can I ask you one thing, about the wedding, or the lack of a wedding, I suppose?”

Scott turns to look at her, his eyebrows raised. He gives her a hum of ascent, and Lola looks briefly surprised before she asks, “Tessa doesn’t know, does she?”

Scott stares at her for a long time before he slowly shakes his head.

\- - -

Tessa is shaking as they stand in the tunnel. There’s about two minutes left of Madi and Mac’s ‘Rock Around the Clock’ routine and then she and Scott take the ice. She’s trying her hardest not to be nervous – they have done this hundreds of times before, after all. But it’s not working. She’s tried to visualize the program, as she would before her competitive skates. She’s tried working through her breathing exercises. She’s drunk her coffee and hot chocolate and she’s currently running her fingers over the safety pin hidden in her costume. But she’s still unbelievably nervous.

She doesn’t really understand why. They know the program well (it wasn’t that long ago they skated it every night for Rock the Rink), and practice had gone well. And she trusts Scott on the ice above anything else in her life. But she’s still shaking.

Next to her, Scott is watching Madi and Mac skate, occasionally murmuring some sort of critique as they perform. She would admit if pushed that she’s a little jealous of his calm about all of this (but, in fairness, he isn’t skating with an injured ankle that’s still bugging him or the memory of hurtling towards they ice from six feet in the air).

As though sensing her nerves, which probably isn’t hard given how much she’s fidgeting, he whispers to her, “You okay?”

“Yeah,” she doesn’t sound convincing even to herself.

“At least make it sound convincing, T,” he says, his voice warm with affection.

She shrugs at him, her cheeks coloring a little at being caught.

“Come here,” he tells her, quietly, “I think I know something that may help.” He reaches towards her when she turns to him and pulls her into his arms. This time, it’s not just a hug, though. It’s _The Hug_. And as they hold each other close, the sense of peace that always comes with their little ritual settles over Tessa, calming her nerves and leaving her comforted by the knowledge that as long as they’re together, everything will be fine.

And when they take the ice a few minutes later, it is. Way more than fine, actually. It’s like coming home. Each edge perfect and steps in perfect unison. Every movement fluid and smooth. Every lift perfect. And when she steps onto his thigh for _The Goose_ , it really does feel like flying.

When they end, foreheads pressed against each other, kneeling on the ice, Tessa smiles at Scott, feeling lighter than she has in ages. “I missed this,” she admits.

“Me too, kiddo. Me too,” he’s smiling so wide as he pulls her to her feet his eyes crinkle.

The audience cheer like mad as they wave to them before heading backstage, where they’re immediately greeted by delight from the other skaters. Even Ricky tries to hide the scowl which has crossed his face every time he sees her with Scott over the past week, as he compliments their lifts. Surprisingly, the only person keeping quiet is Lola. She’s smiling at them, bright as anyone else, but it doesn’t quite reach her eyes, and she keeps looking between the two of them when she thinks no one is paying attention.

Tessa floats through the rest of the night. She barely remembers her skate with Ricky, or the judges’ comments (even with Chiddy there, being endearingly kind to everyone) and she couldn’t even tell someone what anyone else skated to. She’s not even nervous for the results – even though there is going to be an elimination this week and she fell last week, because in the moment, she doesn’t care if it’s her last week on the show. She’s just happy to have skated with her best friend again.

She is somewhat sobered up when it’s Andrew who does go home, sad to see a friend leave the show, but she still walks into the changing room feeling lighter than she has in weeks. It’s fairly late, so most people have already left, but Lola is there, busy tying the laces on her trainers.

She looks up when Tessa walks towards her bag, her face a mix of emotions that makes Tessa wonder what’s going on.

“You guys skated well tonight,” Tessa says, conversationally, as she starts unlacing her skates. “That _Imagine_ program would make a great exhibition skate.”

“Thanks. I liked yours too and _Long Time Running_ , of course.” Lola replies, although there’s an air of politeness about her reply, overshadowing her usual enthusiasm.

Tessa’s not sure what’s wrong, and she debates asking as she finishes taking of her skates, but Lola makes a dash for the door as soon as she’s collected her things, obviously avoiding her. Tessa’s a little worried she’s done something to offend the younger woman, not that she can think of anything, and it’s upsetting her a little because she had thought maybe they were becoming friends.

Lola stops at the door, though, and after clearly warring with herself for a few moments, she turns back to Tessa, and blurts out, “We need to talk about Scott.”

Tessa’s sure her face must reflect her total confusion. A million possibilities run through her mind, but she honestly has no idea what Lola’s going to say next. And if you’d asked her, she never would have guessed what Lola was about to reveal.

“You need to know he called off the wedding.”


	10. 10. Decisive Actions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the long delay in posting this - this chapter turned out hard to write. Added to that, real life has turned into chaos (moving across the world for work during a pandemic may not be the most sane idea ever).  
> Thank you to everyone who is still reading and enjoying this story, and especially to those who encouraged me to get this chapter posted - it would have taken even longer without your kind comments!!  
> Hope everyone is keeping safe and well in these crazy times!

\- - Chapter Ten: Decisive Actions - -

It’s Scott’s cell phone ringing that wakes him before dawn on Monday morning. It’s a little alarming, given how early it is, and he’s even more shocked when he sees Tessa’s name on the caller ID. 

“Tess?” he’s a little concerned there’s something wrong. In all the years he’s known her, he’s never known Tessa to be awake before seven through choice.

“Hi, Scott,” Tessa sounds a little flustered, but not particularly stressed, and Scott lets out a sigh of relief.

“What’s up?”

“Oh, right. Sorry, it’s early.”

Scott yawns. It is early. “It’s okay, T. What’s going on?”

She stutters slightly then and it’s unlike Tessa to sound so unsure. Scott waits a moment for her to compose herself, but when she says quiet, he prompts her, “Tess? Everything okay?”

“Yeah,” she answers quickly. He hears her take a deep breath through the phone. “Do you want to go skating with me this morning?”

It’s not what Scott was expecting, but it’s possibly the greatest question he’s ever been asked. “I always want to skate with you, T.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay. I cleared it with Patch, we can have the small rink ‘til eight, so I’ll meet you at Gadbois in half an hour?”

“Sounds good. I’ll see you there.”

\- - -

Scott is already on the ice when Tessa gets to Gadbois thirty minutes later. The smile he gives her as he skates to meet her at the boards is blinding.

“Tessa Virtue awake before dawn and through choice. I don’t think I’ve ever seen this before,” he teases her while she puts her skates on.

Tessa rolls her eyes good-naturedly. She doesn’t tell him that she’s here so early because she never got to sleep – her partner not telling her something as important as the news that he’d called off his wedding might have been a little distracting. “Yeah, well, I had fun last night,” she admits, hoping her cheeks aren’t as red as they feel, and choosing to focus on skating, which has traditionally been neutral ground and therefore safer. It’s also true. Last night had been the most fun she’s had on the ice since Rock the Rink ended. 

Scott’s smile gets even wider. “Yeah? Good. Me too.”

He holds a hand out to her when she gets to the gap in the boards and as she takes it, Tessa lets him pull her to his side so they can skate around, together. They warm up hand-in-hand before moving on to some of the simpler choreography from their old programs, each taking turns to call out step sequences or lifts for them to do. 

Although they’ve done a lot of skating for Battle of the Blades, and they haven’t been staking particularly hard this morning, neither of them are at peak fitness, so by the time they’ve been on the ice for forty-five minutes, they’re both breathless. But smiling.

“Ok, break,” Scott calls as he gently sets her back to the ice after they try, and nail, the Prince lift. 

“You’re getting old,” Tessa tells him with a laugh.

“Harsh, Virtch,” Scott complains, but he’s laughing with her. 

It all feels so natural, to be on the ice with him again, but also just being with Scott again – laughing and remembering why they worked so well together for so long. It’s such an amazing feeling that Tessa lets herself just embrace it, to get caught up in being with her best friend, and to forget her goal of asking him if he really isn’t getting married anymore. And why he didn’t tell her.

\- - -

Tessa would really like to kill Kurt Browning right about now. Really this is all his fault. He asked her to do this competition. He comes up with the themes for the week. And it’s because of his decree that they are featuring a throwback performance of their first dance that she currently finds herself at the smaller rink at Gadbois, wanting to pull her hair out. 

Jeff had already helped them with their original dance (it’s Joni Mitchell’s Both Sides Now, and it’s so beautiful and heart-breaking it makes her want to cry), so now they’re trying to rehearse their “first” dance. 

And it’s not going well. 

It started off fine, actually, with Ricky excited to have another go and show off how much he’s improved over the competition (which Tessa has to grant him, he really has). However, their shared enthusiasm over their Pride and Prejudice redo had come to a grinding halt when they got to the end of the program. Because Tessa may have purposefully forgotten one very important thing – originally, they ended this dance with The Goose. 

She should never have agreed to that in the first place and while she’s making progress repairing her friendship with Scott (and she’s already a little concerned about him given the secret Lola spilled last week) she’s not going to do anything to jeopardize that. 

And she’s not going to make the same mistake twice. 

However, that stance may have led to an argument with Ricky, that had left her (supposedly adult) boyfriend currently sulking like a child who hasn’t gotten his way while Tessa skates around a little aimlessly, hoping that inspiration might strike. It’s not that there are no lifts she can replace it with, it’s just that they either seem a little complicated (okay, maybe she’s not totally over her fall), or a little too simple (she still wants to win, obviously). 

Eventually, she suggests to Ricky that they call it a day and work on the lift later - they’re going to want to practice any new lift off ice first anyway. Ricky shrugs in agreement, and Tessa has never been so glad to get off the ice in her entire life. 

\- - -

Scott’s impromptu early morning skate with Tessa had left him feeling excited for the last two weeks of Battle of the Blades (also, they’re at the business end of the competition and he’d pretty sure he and Lola can win this thing). Even Kurt’s morning meeting seemed more tolerable than normal, or maybe he was just used to the forced excitement now, and he was delighted that this week was all about Canadian music (it was almost Canada Day, after all). They’re also having to do a second dance each, which is a throwback to their first dance of the competition, and Scott’s excited to have a second chance at the Shut Up and Dance routine. 

The only problem is Lola. Scott’s not sure what’s going on with her, but she’s jumpy (he almost wants to say ‘shifty’, but that sounds a little dramatic). She nearly spilled her coffee she flinched so dramatically when Scott sat down next to her. And then she had agreed to his suggestion that they skate to The Hip way too quickly (like with absolutely no argument at all, not even pointing out that he and Tessa skated Long Time Running last week so he’s already done a Hip song). And she’d run from him after practice at a speed that rivalled Olympic sprinters. 

Scott is still busy puzzling over Lola’s strange behavior after their first practice session, watching Madi and Mac run through their routine from the boards, when Patch joins him. 

“That lift is not working,” Patch says in lieu of greeting, his eyes flicking towards the pair on the ice.

Scott has to agree to him. The lift could be beautiful, but at the moment, it’s clumsy and too long and it detracts from the rest of the program, which is still raw, but wonderful so far. 

“Yeah, it’s really not.” They both watch Madi and Mac try the lift again, somehow even less successfully this time. “Maybe if they changed it from a curve to a straight line, it would be a little less clumsy?” Scott muses.

Patch considers it for a minute. “I think it’s worth a try,” he tells Scott before calling Madi over. 

Madison listens, chewing on her lower lip and furrowing her eyebrows as she considers it. “That could work,” she concedes when Patch finishes. “Goodness knows it’s not working like this.”

“And Madi,” Scott calls as she turns back to Mac to re-run it. “Maybe if Mac raises his arm a little higher in the transition, it’ll run a little easier.”

She nods before returning to Mac at center ice, explaining the suggestions before they reset the lift. It’s a lot better now, and Scott and Patch both cheer from the boards when it works. Madi blows them both exaggerated kisses in thanks and Mac tips his head at them as well. 

“Scott,” Patch says as Madi and Mac run through the lift again. “Would you like to join us for dinner on Wednesday? Marie and I would love to catch up with you. And Billie would love to see you.”

\- - -

Tessa is getting frustrated during practice. They’ve picked a beautiful song; Both Sides Now is moving and emotive (and totally not a metaphorical commentary on all her current relationships) and Jeff has helped with some stunning choreography; and yet it just doesn’t feel right. Nothing is coming together the way it should - the lifts look forced, the spin is a mess, and everything looks like work. It feels like work, too, she thinks, as she calls to Ricky for a break and heads to the boards for some water. 

Kaitlyn skates over to join her when she gets there, her friend’s forehead creased with concern. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, just not getting this to look how it should.” Katilyn raises her eyebrows, as though expecting her to elaborate, but all Tessa adds is, “It’s frustrating.”

Tessa takes a few big gulps of water and then a few deep breaths, trying to calm herself down a little, before she turns back to Kaitlyn. “Ricky asked me last night if I won’t do The Goose because I have feelings for Scott.”

Kaitlyn nearly chokes on her own mouthful of water. “Jeez Tess,” she says, still coughing a little. “Warn me before you bring out the big guns.”

“Sorry,” Tessa tells Kaitlyn as she pats her back. “I needed to get that out. It’s been driving me crazy.”

Kaitlyn raises her eyebrows but stays quiet, letting Tessa elaborate.

“I mean, how does it always come to this?” Tessa’s reduced her voice to a whisper, but a glance behind her assures her that Ricky won’t hear; he’s too busy chatting to Tyler about next season’s hockey. “And why can he not understand that it’s ‘not just some fancy move’,” she uses air quotes as she says this. “That was our move. Scott’s entirely embedded in it. And things between us were just getting back to some semblance of normal, no way am I going to do anything to jeopardize that.”

“Yeah, I think you learned your lesson that first week. Although, I was looking forward to seeing your version of Carmen.”

Tessa rolls her eyes, not entirely appreciating Kaitlyn’s mockery. “Not my finest moment,” she admits, although she’s not sure she can joke about it yet. “Seriously, though, Kait, I don’t know what to do. I can’t keep rehashing the same argument, and Ricky’s almost starting to get mean about it.”

Kaitlyn frowns at her. “Well, Scott’s getting married, soon. Just remind Ricky about that and hopefully he’ll calm down.”

Tessa groans. “That’s the other thing, apparently Scott’s not getting married.”

Kaitlyn’s eyebrows shoot up into her hairline. “Andrew said he thought something was up, but I didn’t know they called off the wedding.”

“They split in December.”

“Really?” Kaitlyn knows a little about the fight at the end of Rock the Rink.

Tessa nods. 

“Did he tell you why?”

“He didn’t tell me at all. Lola did. And I haven’t gotten a chance to speak to him about it yet.” Tessa avoids Kaitlyn’s eyes as she adds, “I don’t know what to say to him.”

“Tess, do you think it had something to do with you telling him you loved him?”

Tessa rests her head on the boards. “I don’t know anymore. I mean, if it had anything to do with me, why stop talking to me for half a year?”

Kaitlyn shrugs. She looks a little nervous when she asks, “Do you still have feelings for Scott?”

Tessa groans, not lifting her head. It’s answer enough for Kaitlyn. “Having feelings for Scott isn’t the problem. It’s been twenty-two years, Kait, I don’t think I know how it feels to not have feelings for Scott anymore.”

Kaitlyn smiles, but it’s mirthless. “I don’t know what to tell you, Tess. Except that you need to talk to Scott. And Ricky.”

Tessa sighs. She knows Kaitlyn’s right. She’s just not sure what she’s going say to either of them.

\- - -

Scott manages to arrive at Patch and Marie’s house ten minutes early. He’s greeted by an extremely excited Billie-Rose, who barrels towards him as he steps out of his car and tries to update him on everything he’s missed in the past year before they’ve even made it into the house. Scott has always been incredibly fond of the young girl, and he realizes now how much he’s missed the people he considered his Montreal family the past two years, and particularly the past few weeks when he hasn’t seen as much of them as he could have. 

He’s arrived bearing a bouquet of flowers for Marie and a bottle of red wine for Patch, and he greets them both enthusiastically, before being led into the house by Billie to be introduced to their new kitten. As he sits on the living room floor to join in a game with Billie and the small ginger cat that is happily stalking one of its toys, Scott is struck by how familiar this feels, and also how different. He had spent many evenings in this house during the comeback, both social calls and strategic meetings with his coaches. But, back then, Tessa had always been with him. And he finds he misses her in this moment more than he thought possible. 

Dinner in the Dubreil-Lauzon household was always a relaxed and happy affair, and tonight is no different. Marie-France is an amazing cook, and Patch keeps everyone’s drinks topped up while Billie-Rose enthralls them all with stories of school, and the rink, and even some memories of Scott and Tessa.

It’s after Marie returns from tucking their daughter into bed (after a long goodbye to Scott and the elicitation of a promise that he will visit her soon) and Patch has topped up everyone’s wine that the three adult find themselves back in the living room. 

“We’ve enjoyed having you all at the rink for the show,” Patch says eventually. 

“It’s been great being back,” Scott tells him, honestly. “It sounds stupid, but I think I forgot how much I love skating.”

Marie gives a hum that may signify either agreement or disbelief. “You’ve been skating well with Lola,” she observes.

Scott smiles. “Yeah, Lola’s great. Skating with her isn’t the same as with Tess, obviously nothing could ever come close to that, but it’s been fun teaching her, and she’s so excited to learn.”

His former coaches beam at him when he says that, and it feels like high praise. 

“That’s actually what we wanted to talk to you about,” Patch tells him.

“Lola?” Scott is a little confused.

“Non, my dear,” Marie has a hint of amusement in his voice. “About you teaching Lola about ice dancing.”

That does not clear anything up for Scott.

Patch takes a breath, seemingly formulating his thoughts. “We’ve been watching you on the ice, your whole career, really I guess, but particularly these last few weeks. With Lola and with Madi and Mac. You’ve got an amazing eye for technique, Scott. I mean, you were always brilliant technically, but you’re able to bring it out in other people, too and that is a rare gift.”

“And it’s not just pure technical ability,” Marie adds. “You’re phenomenal at tying that into the choreography, too.”

Scott’s not sure what to say, or exactly where they’re going, and it must read on his face because Patch holds a hand up to ask him to wait before he continues.

“We want you to come and coach with us, Scott.”

Scott is not sure what he was expecting Patch to say, but somehow that wasn’t it. Patrice must mistake his shock for reluctance, though, because he continues explaining.

“Romain is looking at moving back to France, so we’re looking for someone to take over the junior programs over the next few years. We’ve seen you with kids, and you’re great with them.” He pauses to give Scott a moment to process. 

“But it’s not just that. Madi and Zach want you on their team for the Olympics.” Patrice delivers the pièce de résistance – the opportunity to work with one of the top teams in the world. 

“Wow,” Scott says a little dumbly. He’s trying to process what’s being said but it’s taking him a while. “Thank you, that’s an amazing offer,” And it is, unbelievable, really. And he realizes, as he sits there nodding his head at his former coaches and mentors like a simpleton, that it’s something he really wants. That there’s only one thing he wants more, actually.

\- - -

Scott bounces into the rink on Thursday morning. He had told Patch and Marie that he would consider their offer, and talk to Madi and Zach, and let them know. But he already knew he was going to say yes. Not only was it an opportunity to learn coaching from the best in the world, but it was what he really wanted to do. He loved working with the juniors, shaping new teams without having to un-teach bad habits, and mentoring Madi and Zach at the Olympics would be amazing (and with how well both of them had been skating exhibition pieces for Battle of the Blades, Gabi and Gui had better watch out, because the Americans were going to give them some serious competition in Beijing). 

However, he needs to get through Battle of the Blades first. And right now, that seems harder than he expected. They’ve been skating for an hour and Lola has barely said two words to him. Well, that’s maybe an exaggeration. She had said ‘Good morning’ and then told him they should try their updated version of their first dance to start with shortly thereafter. So, it’s more than two words, but it’s been radio silence since then and Scott is about to go crazy.

“Okay, seriously, Lola, what gives?” Scott asks as he comes to a halt at center ice midway through their rehearsal of Shut Up and Dance. 

“Nothing,” Lola says a little tersely. It’s clearly not nothing, but Scott is wondering if he should push it. Goodness knows he’s spent more than enough time pouting throughout this competition, if Lola needs space, he owes it to her after the patience she’s shown him. But he’s used to her bubbly, happy presence now. And this quiet, shrinking partner is so at odds with the girl he’s come to know that he’s genuinely concerned there’s something really wrong. 

He leaves her for the time being, part cowardice on his part, part guilt over how happy he is compared to how sad she seems. They continue their run through of Shut Up and Dance, and while it’s technically better than it was the first week, it’s missing any form of spark and Scott finds himself hoping they can find it again before the live show on Sunday. 

Three run throughs later, he’s at peace with his decision not to say anything to Lola. She had slowly started to warm up a little – still a far throw from her usual outgoing self but at least he was getting more than monosyllabic responses and even a few half-hearted chuckles at his lame jokes as they worked on their new piece. 

However, as they cool down at the end of their rink time, Scott sees her with Madi and Mac, and Lola looks just like her normal self. At first, he’s pleased with the development, happy she seems to be feeling better. But when she shuts down instantly as he skates up to join them, he knows whatever’s bugging her, it’s not independent of him.

He waits for her to finish changing, only swapping his own skates for runners and not changing out of his skating clothes to be sure he doesn’t miss her leaving. She does a double take as she exits the change room to find him waiting for her, and she sighs a little dramatically as he falls into step beside her. 

“I told you it’s nothing,” she tries, but he’s having none of it. 

“Yeah, and I don’t believe you. And since you are apparently my best friend, you’ll forgive me for worrying about you.” He said it to make her smile, instead she looks like she might burst into tears. Distressed, he stops her, grabbing her arm gently and looking down at her. “Seriously, Lola, what’s wrong.”

Looking entirely defeated, she stares at him for a long moment, before finally admitting, “I’m sorry.”

Puzzled, Scott frowns at her. “About what?”

Lola purses her lips before she starts speaking as fast as Scott has ever heard her. “I shouldn’t have done it. I mean I know that. And I don’t know why I did. And there’s no excuse, really. I was just trying to help. Really, I hope you know that. And I know it’s not my place. But I, dunno, I just thought maybe that’s what was keeping you apart.” She pauses for a breath and Scott feels his entire body turn to ice. 

Lola looks at him again, before finally taking a deep breath and saying, slowly, “I told Tessa.” His confusion must register on his face because she clarifies a moment later. “I told her you weren’t getting married,” she admits quietly. 

Scott doesn’t really know what to think. He can’t even process how this has affected his relationship with Tessa, which felt like it was going well, at least heading back towards ‘2018 well’, anyway. And he’s not sure how he feels about Lola interfering. On the one hand, he’s furious. He wants to yell and scream and tell her to mind her own damn business. On the other, he maybe, just a little, wants to thank her for being brave when he couldn’t. 

Lola doesn’t give him a chance to say anything, though. Because while Scott stands there, mutely considering his thoughts and this new development in his life, she gently extricates her arm from his hand and bolts for the door. 

Well shit, he thinks as he watches her push open the heavy arena doors and make her exit. He certainly hadn’t seen that coming. 

\- - -

Tessa wakes up tired on Friday morning. For the fourth night this week, she’d spent the whole night tossing and turning, thoughts of Ricky and Scott haunting her. It was like being visited by two ghosts that just refused to leave. She knows exactly what it is that’s eating at her, but in neither case is it an easy fix. 

With Scott, it’s thoughts of why he isn’t getting married. And why he didn’t tell her himself. And why she still hasn’t confronted him about it. And, perhaps most concerning, how she feels about the news (and if that’s the real reason she hasn’t confronted him about it). 

With Ricky, it’s the lingering argument about the lift, that’s become the center-point of their entire relationship. He’d started again last night just before they’d gone to bed and it’s like he just can’t accept what she’s saying. He keeps telling her that she should be excited to do her signature lift. And he point-blank refuses to hear that it’s not hers, but theirs. She can understand that he may not grasp the significance of the lift in terms of ice dance history, but his refusal to listen to how she feels is getting on her last nerve. 

A phone call to Jordan in no help either. She can practically hear her sister’s eyeroll through the phone as she regales her with her problems. And while Jordan is happy to listen, she gently reminds Tessa that she has a decision to make, and that it’s she’s the one who’s going to have to live with it and that means she has to make it alone. Tessa thanks her for her help, anyway, knowing full well Jordan can hear the sarcasm dripping from her voice.

After that, she briefly debates calling her mother, but she hastily decides against that – her mother will no doubt have some useful insights, but Jordan is right that Tessa’s the one to live with her decisions. 

With a sigh, she grabs her skating bag and calls out to Ricky that they need to leave to make their ice time. No matter how Tessa feels about anyone, they still have a show to perform this week, and right now, they need all the practice they can get. 

\- - -

This week’s dress rehearsal is an unusually tense event for Scott. He may have spent a few weeks avoiding Tessa at these rehearsals, but now he feels like he needs to avoid Lola, too. Unfortunately, avoiding Lola is a little hard given they have to skate together (twice). Their first skate is passable, the second is just the right side of terrible – stiff and out of sync and totally not going to get them through to the final next week (and also, he kind of misses his friend).

His plan to work things out with Lola is delayed a little, however, because as they come off the ice after the run-through, Tessa stops him with a hand on his arm. Her eyes are an unreadable mix of emotions and Scott would give good money to know what she’s thinking in this moment. Her tone is gentle, however, when she tells him, “We should talk.”

He nods, now he knows Lola’s told her his truth, he’s surprised she hasn’t questioned him already. 

Tessa keeps her hand on his arm as she guides him down the tunnel and into one of the empty offices backstage. Once they’re inside, she gives a gentle squeeze as she lets go. 

“I wasn’t trying to keep secrets,” Scott says instantly, because that feels like the most important thing to say right now. “I just didn’t know how to broach the topic.”

“Yeah,” Tessa says in quiet agreement. “I still would have preferred to hear it from you.”

Scott groans quietly. “I didn’t know how to tell you. Or when.”

Tessa nods. “Can you tell me what happened?” 

Scott closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. “I’m not even sure I know, anymore.” He can see Tessa isn’t happy with that answer, but he continues before she has a chance to protest. “When I got back from tour last year, she knew something was up. I was a bit of a mess. That morning we fought was one of the worst days of my life, you know. You had just told me everything I ever wanted to hear from you, but right when I didn’t want to hear it. I didn’t want to hear you loved me right as we were parting, so I did what I always do, and snapped at you instead of talking.”

Tessa nods sadly. She knows this part. In many ways it was the worst day of her life too. 

“By the time I got home, I was so angry at myself, and you,” he adds with a sardonic smile, “that I was pretty unbearable to live with. And I couldn’t exactly explain that I was angry because my best friend and skating partner of twenty-two years just told me she loved me.”

Tessa looks at him for a moment before she adds to his story, “Or the real truth that you were scared of really being without you best friend for the first time in all those years,” and for the first time, Scott realizes that it really had been as terrible for her as it was for him. 

He reaches his hand out for hers, intertwining their fingers before going on. “Yeah. Well, she kept on asking, and I kept on evading. She made some guesses, after my reluctance to talk – the usual suspects of everything from affairs to secret children,” he says the last part with a slight upturn of his lips, that lets her know he’s joking about that. “I tried to explain to her that we weren’t even talking, and I think, in the end, that she figured out the truth before I could even acknowledge it. My life just isn’t the same without you in it, Tess.”

“She left in December. I didn’t try and stop her, and really, I don’t blame her for walking out. I was a mess. And I wanted to run to you, Tess. I nearly did, too. But I didn’t know how to apologise for fucking up, again. And by the time I came to my senses – well by the time Charlie and Danny had finished yelling at me to get my act together – there were pictures of you and Ricky together. And you just looked so happy,” he shrugs. “I couldn’t ruin it for you. All I ever wanted was for you to be happy, T.”

Tessa’s squeezing his fingers now, so tightly that he’s genuinely worried about losing circulation. 

“I’m glad you didn’t tell me in January,” Tessa tells him, and he is totally shocked by the admission. “I was lost without you, too. And so angry. I just wanted it to be all your fault. I don’t think I would have been ready to listen to you, then.” 

Scott is desperate to ask her what she means by that, but they’re interrupted by Kaitlyn opening the door to tell them they’re needed back on the ice for the run-through of the opening number. 

Tessa drops his hand instantly, her cheeks pinking, and she looks so guilty that Scott finds it endearing (although Tessa punches him, hard, when he laughs). Kaitlyn rolls her eyes and tells them they have two minutes. 

“We good, Tess?” Scott asks her nervously. They probably have more to discuss, but for tonight, a start seems like enough.

Tessa nods. “But Scott, please go and fix things with Lola,” she insists. “It’s disconcerting seeing her so jumpy, and I think she’s been a good friend to you through all this.”

Scott nods reluctantly, as they head for the door.

“Besides,” she adds with a small smile that makes him think maybe everything will work out just the way it’s supposed to, “I don’t want you whining when we beat you tomorrow because you weren’t skating at your best.”

\- - -

Lola bolts off the ice when they are finally dismissed from the run-through. However, it doesn’t take Scott long to find her backstage with Emily, where Lola is very obviously annoyed that the production assistant has waylaid her quick exit over something about costumes for tomorrow. Scott tells Emily he needs to talk to Lola for minute, reassuring her they will be back to sort out the costumes and then he guides a reluctant Lola down the hallway to the same office he and Tessa left half an hour before. 

“If this is about the skating tonight …” Lola starts as soon as they’re inside and he’s closed the door. 

Scott ignores her attempt at distraction. “You shouldn’t have said anything to Tess, Lola,” he says instead. She makes to protest, but he silences her with a raised eyebrow. “It wasn’t your place, and while I can appreciate you were trying to help, you don’t get to make decisions for me about Tess.”

Lola nods her head sadly. 

“I mean, seriously, what did you think was going to happen?”

He meant it to be rhetorical, but Lola answers anyway. “Honestly, I was hoping that would make her realize she loved you, too, and maybe she’d be brave enough to talk to you about it, because clearly you weren’t talking to her anytime soon.”

Scott clenches his jaw. That may be his best-case scenario, too (and a very small part of him is irrationally hopeful that it may still play out that way), but that doesn’t mean she should have done it. “I was waiting for the right time,” he says a little defensively. 

Lola smirks at him, knowing full well that means no time soon, and Scott has to wonder how this conversation has been turned around. 

“That,” he adds hastily, “Is not the point.” 

But the damage is done. Given the opportunity, Lola is not going to ignore it. “Really, you should be thanking me.”

“Lola,” Scott sighs heavily. He’s not entirely sure she’s wrong, but he’s not done with this yet.

“I am sorry, though,” Lola tells him, her joking of moments ago replaced by seriousness and sincerity. “I know I haven’t known you for that long, but what I do know is that you are a much happier person with Tessa than without.” 

Scott nods. That is true. 

“I’ve never been good with boundaries,” Lola explains. Scott thinks that, too, is very true. “But I will try and respect them going forward. And I’m very sorry if I complicated things between you and Tessa, again.”

He and Lola stare at each other for a few moments before Scott shrugs, effectively accepting the apology. He doesn’t know exactly what tonight has done to his relationship with Tess, but this news was always going to be a bombshell, but it is better now that she knows. He’s never going to admit that to Lola, though.

“I think I would even forgive you,” Scott tells her with a smile. “If I get to choose the music next week.”

“What?” Lola complains, “You chose this week.”

“Yeah, but that was you feeling guilty, before I even knew what you were guilty about. It’s not a penance unless I know what you’re paying for. Get ready for some country,” he tells her with a smile.

“That’s not fair,” Lola whines, but she’s smiling, too. 

“Tell you what, we make it to the final, and we each choose one song?” Scott proposes. Lola throws her arms around him when he says that, and he hugs her back, exceedingly glad she’s in his life (he’s never going to tell her that, either).

“You know,” Lola says as they walk towards wardrobe a minute later. “When you and Tess get married, I totally call bridesmaid.”

“Lola!” 

She grins at him cheekily, and he has to actively remind himself that that’s not happening (yet?).

\- - -

Twenty-four hours later, Scott and Lola skate better than they ever have. Their talk yesterday has ultimately made them better friends, and it translates into even better chemistry on the ice. Also, Lola’s improved so much throughout the competition that Scott really thinks she could make a go as an ice dancer (he doesn’t think he should tell her this because he ego doesn’t really need any more stoking). 

This far into the show, the competition is tighter than ever. It’s also the final elimination night before the final, and two couples are going home, so everyone needs to be at their best. While things are looking good for Scott and Lola, unfortunately they don’t look great for Tessa and Ricky. Their Both Sides Now program is beautiful, but there’s a disconnect between them Scott hasn’t seen before – it’s like they’re skating against each other rather with each other. 

Later in the show, Pride and Prejudice is somehow worse. It’s technically better than the first time they performed it, but they aren’t skating as well as they have in the previous weeks. There’s even a moment before the final lift where Scott is pretty sure Tessa has some harsh words for Ricky before they somehow execute a messy lift that would have scored barely above a fall if this were a competition. The judges’ comments afterwards confirm that Scott’s not the only one who noticed the discord. 

Ten minutes later, Tessa and Ricky find themselves in the bottom three. Alongside Zach and Amy and Kaitlyn and Taylor, they have to skate ‘for their lives’. Scott watches nervously from backstage as they skate, he’s flanked by Madi and Lola, who are both clearly as anxious as he is about the results.

Kaitlyn and Taylor skate cleanly, but not quite up to their normal standard. Then Amy bobbles a twizzle and Zach nearly botches their lift. It means that Tessa and Ricky just need to skate cleanly to stay in the competition. Scott knows Tessa will rise to the occasion, but he watches on sadly as Ricky seems to fall apart with it. The skate is his worst in weeks, and in the end, he and Tess join Zach and Amy as the bottom two couples. 

The remaining couples are waiting as the others come off the ice. Madi wastes no time in taunting Zach about exhibition pieces and their bet (Scott thinks if accepts Patch’s offer, they are going to have a chat about Taylor Swift). 

Ignoring the Americans for now, though, Scott pulls Tessa into a hug, whispering in her ear as he does. “You okay?”

Her answer is a steely smile and a promise that she will be. 

\- - -

“I still think we should have kept The Goose,” Ricky says for the fourth time in as many minutes as they’re leaving the arena. He’s been upset since they got their results from the first dance, it got worse after the second, and he’s been unbearable since they got their marching orders. 

“I’m sorry,” she tells him honestly, but exasperatedly, because this is the not the first time they’ve spoken about this. “But I didn’t want to risk the most important relationship in my life over some stupid show.”

Initially, she’s still so irritated she doesn’t even realize what she’s said. Ricky clearly does, though, because he recoils as though she’s slapped him. The fight leaves him instantly, then, almost as though he knows when he’s been beaten. 

“That’s just it, isn’t it, Tess?” He asks her with a slight sneer. “He’s always going to be more important to you, isn’t he?”

Anger pulses through Tessa. “That’s not fair, Ricky.”

Ricky looks at her sadly. “Maybe not, but it is the truth, Tess.”

Standing in the parking lot of the Centre Bell, Tessa finally realizes that it is. She’s spent years trying to deny it, and running from it, and telling herself to forget it, but in this moment, she knows that Ricky’s right. Scott Moir is always going to be more important to her than anyone else.

And she doesn’t want to waste a moment more before she does something about it.   



	11. 11. The Final Battle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who is still interested in this story, and for those of you checking in and asking (reminding :)) me to finish it. I appreciate every comment and kudos you've all left. 
> 
> I'm super sorry this has taken forever - I can't even excuse it except to say life happened and although it's taken forever it's not because I had forgotten about this story.
> 
> I can't believe this story is almost done (or that it's taken me so long to get here), but there will be a (probably not so) short epilogue after this chapter (which I will try my best to hurry up and finish). 
> 
> I hope everyone is safe and healthy during these crazy times and have a great weekend everyone!!

# \- - Chapter Eleven: The Final Battle - -

Finals week doesn’t start quite the way Scott was hoping it would. Firstly, he doesn’t get woken before dawn, this week, and while ordinarily that’s the way he prefers it, he’s a little sad he doesn’t start this week skating with Tess. Second, the Monday meeting is really long, even though they pretty much have free reign for both dances for the final, Kurt seems reluctant to let them go. And then, third, he gets a message from Marie-France telling him that she won’t be able to help with choreography today.

When he complains about the last part to Lola, she just rolls her eyes at him and tells him they’ll manage somehow. It does little to appease him, but he has a brunch meeting with Madi and Zach before practice, so he (very maturely) retaliates with an eyeroll of his own before leaving her to film some promo segments and interviews for the final.

Half an hour later, Scott joins Madi and Zach at Fabergé to discuss coaching them to the Olympics. The Americans are already there when he arrives, arguing about whether their bet about who got further in Battle of the Blades is enforceable or not. It looks good-natured, for now, although Scott’s not entirely sure the argument isn’t going to become heated.

“Scott!” Madison says a little too loudly when she sees him. She looks a little sheepish after (she did see him at the meeting this morning), but her enthusiasm is explained when she immediately recruits him into her argument with Zach. “You need to explain to Zach that he made a bet, so he needs to honor it.”

“Madi,” Zach sounds a little exasperated. “We weren’t serious about that bet. I never would have made you skate to something you hate. Scotty, tell her that its much better for a team to decide these things together.”

Scott winces at the nickname. If he takes this job, he’s going to have a serious discussion with Zach about it.

“You totally would have chosen something awful and insisted we use it if you won,” Madi throws back at her partner.

  
“You haven’t won yet, Madi,” Zach volleys back.

“I meant the won the bet, Zach, you know that.” Scott seriously starts to wonder if he might have to intervene.

Fortunately, he’s saved from having to say anything because a waitress interrupts to take their orders. By the time they’ve asked her for coffees and a few more minutes to peruse the menu, the argument about the exhibition program is, thankfully, forgotten.

“So,” Madi looks at him excitedly, “Patch and Marie spoke to you about coaching?”

“Yeah, but I wanted to chat to the two of you as well before I said yes.”

“So, you’re going to say yes?” Madi asks, her voice rising to octaves in delight.

“Madi, chill,” Zach murmurs to her under his breath, but its laced with fondness.

“I’m definitely thinking about it,” Scott acknowledges. He’s more than thinking about it. He wants to do this.

“Well, we would really like to work with you leading up to the Olympics,” Madi tells him earnestly, Zach nodding in agreement.

“Really?”

“Yeah,” Zach sounds like he doesn’t know why Scott finds this surprising. “You and Tess know more about winning the Olympics than anyone. And about beating Gabbi and Gui,” he adds with a wry smile.

“But it’s more than about winning the Olympics,” Madi adds. “PyeongChang was heartbreaking for us. We were so close, it felt like we had worked so hard and then everything fell apart so quickly.” She reaches to pat Zach on the shoulder when she notices him starting to curl in on himself. “Beijing is our redemption.”

“We want to skate better than we ever have. That’s why we’re doing this.”

Scott takes a minute to look at the two of them. They’re the picture of determination and it’s exactly what he wanted to hear. There are no guarantees with the Olympics, they all know that. And if it’s gold or nothing, then he doesn’t think he can help them.

“And if you’re willing to work with us, we would really appreciate it.”

“We love working with everyone at I.AM, this isn’t anything about coaching issues or anything. Everyone there has been amazing,” Madi reassures him. “I mean it when I always say I’m never going to leave, even after I retire.”

“We just want to know we did everything we could. And we’ve seen you coaching Lola over the past few weeks, and Madi can’t stop talking about how helpful you’ve been. And that trick with the shoulder last week, that was mind blowing.”

Scott finds himself a little speechless. He didn’t think they were going to try so hard to convince him. Not that he needed much convincing. He can totally understand needing redemption, and he wants to be a part of their journey.

“So?” They both look at him expectantly. “You’re being very quiet.”

“You guys won’t stop talking,” Scott teases. “There’s barely been a gap for me to get a word in.”

They both roll their eyes at him. “Well?” Madi prompts.

“Looks like I have some coaching exams to take.”

Madi squeals loud enough that a few people a few tables away to look over. Zach buries his face in his hands, exasperated at her dramatics. She blushes when she realizes the scene she’s created, but she shrugs and smiles at Scott.

“But don’t think this means I’m going easy on you for the finals,” she tells Scott with a smirk.

“Wow, and the gloves are coming off. I thought we were all on the same team,” Scott says with a smile, an idea coming to him as he does. “Tell you what, Madi. How about I raise your bet. If Lola and I beat you on Sunday, I pick the exhibition music for next season.” Save us all from Taylor Swift all year, he thinks.

Madi glances at Zach, who shrugs, probably thinking the same as Scott. “Ok, bring it.”

“You mean ‘Bring it, _coach_ Scott,” Scott tells her with a smirk of his own and it doesn’t take long for all three of them to start laughing.

\- - -

Tessa has done a lot of brave things in her life. She moved away from home at thirteen (and then even further away at fifteen). She skated through compartment syndrome, and then had surgery for it, twice. She competed at three Olympics, once when she was in so much pain she could hardly walk between the dorms and the rink. She regularly gives big speeches, even though she truly hates public speaking.

When it came to talking to Scott last night, however, she had totally chickened out.

She had gotten all the way back to the rink (admittedly turning back every few meters) before she turned back for good. It wasn’t that she didn’t know what she wanted that was giving her pause, it was more that she didn’t know how to tell him. It might also be absolute terror at not knowing how he felt.

By the time she had arrived back at the aparthotel she had been sharing with Ricky, she again wondered if she should try and talk to Scott, although she wasn’t sure where he was staying at the moment, either. She had been distracted from that dilemma when she noticed, with no small amount of relief, that Ricky had managed to clear his stuff out before she got back. She wasn’t sure where he’d gone, but she was grateful she didn’t have to watch him walk out of her life. It may not have ended well between them, but he had been there when she needed him, and she would always be thankful for that.

It was after midnight by the time she finally decided it was too late to go after Scott now. The consequence, however, was that she had spent a restless night, cursing her cowardice (and feeling a little bad about how things ended with Ricky) as she tossed and turned continually. Eventually, as light started to peek through the curtains, she had given up on sleep and instead started to formulate a plan.

It started with a song, and then calls to Lola and Marie-France.

\- - -

Buoyed by his talk with Zach and Madi, Scott feels a little happier when he returns to Gadbois to meet Lola for practice. That is, until he remembers Marie has abandoned them in their moment of need (sure, she’s arranged for someone else to help, and he knows that Jeff or David Wilson are great choreographers, but Marie just seems to understand how to showcase Lola and him skating best).

It’s not Jeff or David waiting for him on the ice when he finally gets there, though. At first, he doesn’t believe his eyes when he sees her with Lola at the far side of the rink, showing the other woman a perfect sit-spin. But then she stands up, and she smiles so brightly she could light up the rink, and Scott knows this is even better than he could have imagined in a dream.

Tessa gives him a slightly awkward wave, which he mirrors, only to cause Lola to roll her eyes so hard Scott is surprised it doesn’t give her a headache.

“So,” Lola’s smirking, like she knows something he doesn’t, “Marie asked Tessa to pinch hit. I’m assuming you’re going to be okay with this.”

“Uh-ha,” Scott doesn’t know when he forgot how to form words. He clears his throat. “I mean, yeah. Yeah. That works for me.” Lola rolls her eyes again. Tessa blushes.

“So, have you thought about songs yet?” Tessa asks, trying to divert attention from the blush on her cheeks.

In a surprising turn of events, Kurt has given them very few instructions for the final. Both songs, it would seem, are entirely their choice. Given they only found that out a few hours ago, both Scott and Lola shake their heads. They haven’t had a chance to discuss it yet.

“Because I have a suggestion?” Tessa phrases it a bit as a question, but they both nod at her, happy to hear it. “You know that song from _The Greatest Showman?_ ”

“That one they played at every gala for like the whole of the comeback?” Scott knows he sounds unconvinced. He might be exaggerating, but he feels like that song got overused in the build up to PyeongChang.

Tessa gives him a look that says she doesn’t appreciate the skepticism. “No,” she tells him like he’s being particularly stupid. “The other one.” When neither of them responds she rolls her eyes and pulls out her phone.

Lola starts nodding enthusiastically as soon as the music starts, but Scott listens longer, choreography starting to appear in his mind as P!nk sings. By the time the song gets to “ _a million dreams are keeping me awake,”_ he knows it’s perfect and that he’s smiling so widely at Tessa he’s sure he looks like a lovestruck fool (but she’s smiling back just as widely, so he figures it’s okay).

The spend a good hour working though some basic choreography for the song. Watching Tessa create art on ice is just as magical as it was when they were still competing. And despite their estrangement, they manage to fall back into their old habits, as though the last six months hadn’t happened, rarely needing words to explain their ideas or change things around. It’s clearly both amusing and irritating Lola in equal measure (he thinks the term ‘FOMO’ might have been coined with Lola in mind), but she obviously appreciates the results when they put together a stunning program.

“Yes!” she practically shouts when Scott places Tessa back on the ice after demonstrating a lift for the end of the program. “That’s going to win us the competition,” she says, confidence abundant as she skates over to them from where she was sitting on the boards. “Or it will if you ever let go of her hand so we can practice,” she adds with a pointed look at Scott, who promptly drops Tessa’s hand like it’s a hot potato. He hadn’t even realized he’d still been holding it, and from the tiny, embarrassed smile on Tessa’s face, neither had she.

Lola pulls a face and rolls her eyes at them, and this time, Scott doesn’t hesitate to warn her, “You’re face will stay that way if you keep doing that.” It only prompts her to stick her tongue out at him as she skates over.

They try out the lift a few times, having to make a few adjustments because Lola’s not as tall as Tessa or anywhere near as experienced, but it doesn’t take them long to work out an adapted version that they, and Tessa, are happy with.

Tessa’s already working on some ideas for a transition into a final position as they skate back to her at center ice, and Scott thinks, not for the first time today, how much he just loves watching her move to music. There’s something about how Tessa just lets the music dictate her movement to produce something beautiful that leaves him spellbound.

Lola shoots him a pointed look, obviously desperate to point out just how long he’s been staring at Tessa (isn’t this what she’s been wanting for the last eight weeks, anyway). He ignores her, though he wishes he hadn’t a moment later when she asks Tessa, her face innocent but her eyes calculating, “Where’s Ricky?”

Tessa doesn’t look at either of them as she says. “Toronto, I think.”

That’s news to Scott and he tries to keep his face neutral when Tessa elaborates, telling them that she and Ricky split. “Oh,” is what he says eventually when she finishes. The amusement dancing across Lola’s face makes him think he’s not doing a very good job of playing the supportive friend with personal interest in the matter.

Tessa simply shrugs, like she doesn’t want to talk about it more, now, and Scott is grateful. This isn’t a conversation for the middle of the rink (or for Lola and her own not-so-hidden agenda, for that matter). He wants to ask Tessa if maybe they could meet up later, but he struggles to find the words. Then he’s prevented from asking by Emily and the camera crew arriving at the boards and asking if this is a suitable time to get some pick up shots for the finale. Lola agrees enthusiastically while Scott nods and tries to keep his sigh from being too loud.

Tessa gives him a shy smile as she leaves them on the ice. “I’ll see you tomorrow?” Scott wonders if the hope he hears in her voice is just a reflection of what he’s feeling.

He smiles back at her. “Looking forward to it, T.” He thinks this is the most excited he’s been for practice, maybe ever.

\- - -

“Where’s Scott?” Tessa asks Lola as she gets to the rink on Tuesday morning. It’s not what she meant to lead with, but when she realized it was just Lola on the ice it was all she could think.

Lola gives her a smirk. “Well, good morning to you, too,” she says, clearly enjoying the way Tessa blushes at being called out. “He’s just talking to Patch.”

“Oh okay,” Tessa nods. She takes some time to get her skates on, thinking back to the day before as she does. She always had fun working with Scott and it had been so much easier to slip back into that than she had been expecting. It made her realize how much she had missed having her best friend in her life with an acuteness that made her chest ache. Maybe it had taken her a while to get here, but she knew now that they were better together.

“I think it’s about the job,” Lola says, interrupting Tessa’s thoughts.

“What job?”

“The coaching job,” Lola says slowly, her face slackening in shock as she realizes, “You didn’t know.”

“Apparently he doesn’t tell me anything, anymore,” Tessa sounds a little more bitter than she intended, her happy thoughts of moments ago seeming to evaporate. “I guess I’ll just have to find out everything from you from now on.”

“Shit, Tess. No,” Lola’s scrambling for the boards, coming to join Tessa at the bench. “It’s not like he told me either. I only heard from Madison. And she only knows because she and Zach approached Patch about bringing Scott onto their coaching team for the Olympics.”

“Oh,” Tessa says, feeling a little stupid for over-reacting earlier. “I always thought Scott would be a great coach.”

“He’s good at it,” Lola agrees with a smile. “And you know he values your opinion more than anyone’s, right? Even mine,” she adds dramatically, feigning hurt and drawing a small smile from Tessa.

“Thanks, Lola,” Tessa tells her and then they stand there, a little awkwardly, neither sure what to say.

It’s almost a full minute of silence before Lola asks, “So, do you have any ideas about a second song?”

“Actually, what do you think about a Queen medley?”

Lola frowns, and so Tessa decides that’s not going to work and instead she pulls out her phone and they start going through some other options.

When Scott finds them five minutes later, they’re both enjoying their song search, even if it hasn’t been overly successful. They’ve been dancing their way through Tessa’s music, _Despacito_ the latest song they’ve found to amuse themselves with. Before Scott even reaches them, his upper lip is curled into a slight snarl. “I appreciate the impromptu dance party, but we are not dancing to that.”

Tessa laughs, because she didn’t think he would go for it. Lola pouts, instead choosing to point out, “You’re late. I think that means that I get to choose.”

Scott rolls his eyes. “I’ll argue that with you in a minute, first I have some news,” he tells Lola, although his eyes flick to find Tessa’s. “You’re looking at the newest Gadbois coach.”

“That’s amazing,” Lola practically yells from next to him, jumping up and down on her skates in excitement and then hugging Scott.

Tessa’s reaction is quieter, but no less happy. “She’s right,” she tells him, smiling. “You’re going to be amazing. I’m so happy for you,” she leans in to hug him.

“Thanks, T,” Scott says when he releases her a moment later. “It’s mostly juniors for now, but also specifically with Madi and Zach in the build up to the Olympics, but you know, if you’re ever interested, I could always use some help for one of the best choreographers I know,” he shoots her a hopeful smile.

“I might be convinced,” she smiles back, throwing in a wink.

Scott smirks back at her, almost forgetting Lola’s there until he hears her clapping in excitement (he still thinks she’s unhealthily invested in their relationship, but it’s sweet, he supposes). “Speaking of choreographing, I have an idea about the second dance.”

\- - -

Scott greets Lola and Tessa at the rink with coffee on Wednesday morning. They’ve all got private ice for their practices this week, and today they’ve got the early slot so Gadbois is quiet. It’s a little weird because he’s enjoyed working with Madi the last few weeks, but he supposes there’s going to be a lot of that in the future. It’s also strange not knowing what anyone else is doing until the dress rehearsal on Friday.

They’ve still got a lot of work to do on their own programs before the show, but so far, they’re pretty happy with how they’re developing. The _Million Dreams_ piece is intricate and showcases a few complicated lifts, and as the most difficult program they’ve tried all competition, it’s definitely fitting for the final.

For the second song, it had taken a while, but Lola had eventually agreed to his suggestion of, well, _Lola_. Tessa had seen it straight away, liking its beat and the way that it contrasted with their other song (and probably mostly because it was from 1970, although she didn’t admit this to Scott) and she’d quickly started throwing out different moves to match the beat. Lola had protested that the lyrics were slightly weird but after Scott had argued that no-one would focus on anything other than the ‘ _L-O-L-A, Lola’_ anyway, and he and Tessa had demonstrated some test choreography, she’d been sold.

They’ve got two hours of ice time this morning, and they spend it productively but also manage to have a lot of fun between run-throughs. It’s some of the most fun Scott’s had, at least since Mini-Blades week, and he’s hoping that Tessa knows his request about choreography assistance the day before had been genuine, because working with her again is amazing.

“I really think you two can win this thing,” Tessa tells him as they’re leaving the ice at the end of their session.

“Yeah?”

“It’s looking great,” she assures him.

He smiles at her, “Well, we did have a great choreographer.”

Tessa laughs. “She is good, isn’t she,” she jokes.

“The best,” Scott promises her, earnestly. “I meant it about working together, in the future, T. I know it’s not all you want, skating I mean, but maybe just sometimes? I’ve missed working with you.”

“Me too. And I would like that. You’ve always been my favorite person to work with. Do you maybe want to come and skate with me tomorrow morning? I’ll ask your new boss if I can get us ice time.”

Scott smiles. “Absolutely.”

\- - -

Scott meets Tessa on the ice at the crack of dawn on Thursday morning. It’s early, but she’s already there when he arrives, bearing coffee once again and she beams him a smile as he hands her one. She takes a sip, humming contentedly, before they leave both cups on the boards to start warming up, naturally reaching for each other without even thinking about it.

They skate around together, just enjoying the quiet rink and each other’s company for a few laps of the ice.

“Maybe we can put on some music,” Scott suggests after a short while. “I’ve got _Mahler_ on my phone, I think. Or even _Valse Triste_ ,” he knows that’s always been one of her favourites.

Tessa shakes her head.

“Maybe we can run through the _Million Dreams_ choreography for Sunday? There’s still something not right with that first lift.”

“No,” Tessa’s shaking her head, dropping his hand, and coming to an abrupt stop on the ice a few feet behind him. “I don’t want to skate, Scott.”

Scott feels like he’s been hit by a bus, thoughts running through his head faster than Usain Bolt. He can feel panic rising within him. _She doesn’t want to skate. Now? But she suggested they skate this morning. Surely, she doesn’t mean ever._

He feels like he has ice running through his veins as he turns around.

Tessa’s staring at him, here eyes wider than saucers and a hand clamped over her mouth. Clearly, she’s concerned about what she said, and how he’s reacting, but he’s not sure if that’s because she didn’t mean it, or if she did.

\- - -

Tessa doesn’t hesitate to close the gap between them, gently raising a hand to his bicep, giving it a small squeeze. It’s a silent plea to give her a moment to explain.

“I don’t mean I don’t want to skate with you. I always want to skate with you,” she clarifies. “Always,” she adds for emphasis when he stays frowning at her.

She takes a deep breath, steeling herself for what comes next and she can feel Scott tense where her hand still grips his arm - he’s bracing himself for another blow. “What I meant to say,” she starts, tripping over the words in a way that is uncharacteristic. “I mean, I think we need to finish talking and I don’t want to keep skating until we’ve done that. Because it feels amazing when we skate, like everything I’ve ever wanted, but then we get distracted and we don’t ever finish the conversation,” she’s babbling a little and she can see Scott is fighting against a smile. Now’s her chance, and this time she isn’t going to chicken out. “I know I messed up.”

“We both messed up,” he interrupts her.

“Yeah, we both did,” she concedes quietly. That’s the truth if ever she heard it. “You were so brave after the Olympics when you told me how you felt. And I think you knew how I felt too, but I wasn’t ready and I’m sorry. Not for not being ready, because I needed to know how I felt, but for how I handled it. And for being scared; for waiting too long to tell you after I knew how I felt.” He’s looking at her with hope in his eyes, and it emboldens her. “But I want to be brave, too. Because I know now what I want. What I will always want, probably what I always wanted.”

She looks him straight in the eye.

“You,” she tells him, before shaking her head a little. “Us,” she amends. “Together. In every way. Always.”

\- - -

It takes him a moment to compute what she’s actually saying.

_Us. Together. In every way. Always. Us. Together. Always._ It runs through his head like a mantra. Because he wants that, too. More than anything.

“Yeah?” he still can’t believe what he’s hearing.

“Yeah,” she’s smiling just a little.

“Because that’s all I’ve ever wanted, too.” He brings his hand to her cheek. “Us, together, always,” he repeats her words back to her.

They stare at each other for a beat. Both of them smiling a little - disbelief laced in with all the delight.

It feels like slow motion, when Tessa pulls herself into him, and then the world seems to speed up as their lips finally meet. It starts slow, and sweet, like neither of them are ready to trust that what just happened wasn’t a dream. It doesn’t stay that way for long, though, not with twenty-two years of love and at least ten years of yearning between them.

It’s only when they need oxygen that they pull back, both a little giddy.

“Oh my God,” Tessa says, panting slightly. “I can’t believe I said all that at the rink.” Scott laughs fondly at the horrified expression on her face. Somehow, he thinks, it’s prefect that this finally happened here, of all places. In the small rink at Gadbois, where they spent so much time together and in the early hours of the morning that had always been reserved for each other.

Suddenly, Tessa is laughing, too, as though she can read his thoughts. He thinks after all this time, maybe she can.

“Do you want to hear a secret?” Tessa asks once they both calm down, whispering even though they’re alone.

“Always.”

“I asked Marie to let me choreograph for you and Lola this week.”

“Really?”

“Really,” she’s blushing. “I might have had this epiphany on Sunday night, but then I chickened out of talking to you. I thought I could force myself into talking to you.”

“Yeah?”

“And maybe I just wanted to spend more time with you as well.”

“Well, I’m glad. And Tess? Does forever sound like enough time?” He realizes belatedly that he may have just accidentally proposed to her. He finds he’s okay with that.

She smiles at him, her biggest and brightest smile, the one that’s always made him feel like he could do anything any time she’s directed it at him. “I think we can make that work.”

He pulls her in close, bringing his lips to hers, to seal their words with a kiss.

\- - -

After that, Scott floats through the rest of the week. It feels like the colors are brighter, the birds are singing more clearly, and the skating has never been better. He feels like the guy in _500 Days of Summer_ , where he realizes he’s in love and he envisions himself walking down the street to a flash mob backdrop complete with cartoon birds. He (stupidly) describes this exact scenario to Lola on Friday morning at the dress rehearsal when she comments on his cheery disposition. She spends at least five minutes laughing at him, before she can assure him that may be the sweetest thing she’s ever heard (he’s not sure she’s being genuine because she does not stop teasing him all through rehearsal), but also, how does he not appreciate the irony that the song in the movie is _You Make My Dreams Come True._

When she finally stops laughing at him, she throws him into a small quandary when she asks him what this means for him and Tessa now. Because while they might have said a lot of things to each other and enjoyed a full-on make-out session on the ice the other morning, they still haven’t officially defined what they are to each other.

They have spent every waking minute that Scott hasn’t been working on his Battle of the Blades together, though. And quite a bit of their non-waking time together, too, albeit in a more platonic way that Scott might have hoped, after Tessa’s fallen asleep cuddled up next to him on his couch twice in three days but they’re taking it slow, and he’s happy with that.

But there’s also a lot for them to work out - starting with the fact that he’s moving to Montreal in a month, but neither of them seems to want to be the first to bring it up. After he spends a sleepless night on Friday stressing about it, he decides that if Tessa’s happy for now, so is he. They can discuss it all on Monday, after the show is done.

\- - -

It’s the final show and Scott and Lola are in the tunnel, waiting to take the ice for their first dance of the night. Madi and Mac had been beautiful and earned close-to perfect scores from the judges. Kaitlyn and Tyler are currently on the ice and they’re skating just as well. There’s no doubt that they’re going to need to be excellent to win tonight.

Lola’s pacing while they wait, uncharacteristically nervous, but Scott figures the stakes are higher than ever. He’s also learned that when she needs to get rid of nervous energy, it’s better to let her. He’s feeling a little overwhelmed himself now that he’s stopped to think about it. It’s not so much about tonight’s performances, he’s sure they can do great, and even if they don’t win, he’s damn proud of how they’ve done as a team. What’s really knocked the wind out of him, though, is just how much his life has changed over the past ten weeks. He came back to Montreal a little bruised and broken, estranged from Tessa and most of the skating world and feeling like he never really wanted to see the inside of a rink again in his life.

And now, he’s not only rediscovered his passion for skating, but he’s got a new job he’s beyond excited about, his old friends back and some new ones, and most importantly of all, Tessa back at his side (hopefully forever). He supposes he should thank Danny, for forcing him to take Kurt’s offer to do the show, but he’s not sure he can deal with his brother’s smirking. He actually groans when he thinks about how much gloating there’s going to be when he and Tessa tell their families they ( _might, possibly, maybe, probably, hopefully_ ) be together.

It’s as he’s contemplating asking Tessa if she wants to move to Antarctica with him, to avoid their families and the inevitable ribbing they’re going to face, that he feels a hand on his shoulder. He turns to find Tessa, a small smile on her face as she comes to stand next to him.

“Hey,” she says quietly, her shoulder bumping into his gently.

“Hey, yourself,” Scott settles his arm over her shoulder, bringing her close to him. He thinks he’s smiling like a loon, but he doesn’t care.

“Nervous?” Tessa asks him, barely above a whisper.

“Nah, we got this,” Scott says, although they both know its false bravado.

“I think you’re going to do great,” Tessa tells him, her tone laced with sincerity.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Besides, you had a great choreographer,” she adds with a smirk.

Scott gives a startled chuckle and pulls her close. It doesn’t take long for their embrace to morph into _The Hug_. And as their breathing syncs, he knows that no matter what happens on the ice, if Tessa’s still with him afterwards, he won’t care.

He doesn’t know how long they stand there, but after a while Lola clears her throat, forcing them to reluctantly break apart.

“Sorry. Emily says that’s our one-minute cue,” she’s wringing her hands and unable to look either of them in the eye. Scott knows its nerves about the show rather than any sort of embarrassment at interrupting, because normally Lola would relish interrupting (the fact that she isn’t mocking them about finally getting their act together is clue enough that she’s distracted).

“You okay, Lola?” Tessa asks her, concern etched on her face.

“Fine,” Lola says, although she sounds anything but.

“I think you can do better than that,” Scott attempts to cajole her. “We’re going to rock it.”

“He’s right,” Tessa adds. “You guys are going to do amazing.”

Lola manages a little smile at their encouragement.

“All right, come here,” Tessa tells her, holding an arm out and pulling Lola into a hug.

It’s only when Scott reaches over to embrace them both a moment later that Lola finally smiles.

“Oh my God,” she says happily after Emily calls them and they break apart. “I got to be part of _The Hug_ ,” she bubbles to no-one in particular.

Scott rolls his eyes fondly as he turns to follow her to the ice. “Thank you,” he whispers to Tessa before he leaves. “I think you just made her day.”

Tessa gives him a tongue-touched smile. “Well, when you win, I’ll take all the credit.” She casts her eyes around, apparently checking for cameras. Satisfied that they’re alone, she stands on her toes to press a quick, chaste kiss to his lips. She smirks at the blush that he can feel spreading across his cheeks and down his neck. “Good luck.”

\- - -

Scott and Lola skate out in darkness as a final introductory video plays over the Jumbotron. This time it’s edits from the training sessions during the week, cut together with some talking head interviews from them and the crew that’s been helping them.

Scott startles a little when Tessa’s voice comes over the speakers, and when he looks up, her face is filling the screen. “I was very lucky,” the Tessa on the Jumbotron is telling the audience, “that I got to work with Scott and Lola this week. Scott and I spent twenty-two years skating together, and many of my favorite memories are from time spent on the ice with him. Choreographing with him and Lola this week has given me some new, wonderful memories. Lola’s an extremely talented skater, and I was really impressed with the skills she’s mastered during the competition. Of course, Scott is the best partner anyone can ask for and I am extremely proud of how he’s helped transform Lola into a figure skater over the past two months. You guys have got this,” she adds as the interview ends. “I believe in you!”

Scott can feel tears burn his eyes as they stand on the dark ice listening to the end of the video.

“Sap,” Lola whispers to him, but her smile is fond.

Scott smiles, infinitely glad once again to have been partnered with Lola for this competition, and the friendship she’s given him.

“Come on, let’s make Tessa proud and perform he hell out of her programs,” she tells him.

He gives a startled but delighted laugh at that. And when the music starts moments later, that’s exactly what they do.

\- - -

Scott and Lola, Kaitlyn and Tyler, and Madi and Mac are lined up at center ice with Ron and Tracy next to them, the envelope with the winners’ names in her hand.

“We’ve had some absolutely amazing skates over the last two months,” Ron is telling the audience. “And every one of our skaters have gone out there and given their all and we’ve seen some magical skating. Tonight, was no exception and I am exceptionally glad I wasn’t the one having to decide between these couples. And now, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, without any further ado, the moment you’ve all been waiting for the moment you have all been waiting for… Tracy would you do the honors?”

Tracy smiles as she opens the envelope. “And the winners of Battle of the Blades 2020 are … Lola Hayes and Scott Moir.”

Scott knows Tracy is busy telling the audience how much money they’ve won for Special Olympics Canada, their chosen charity, but even though she’s only a few feet away, he can’t hear her with how loud Lola shrieked when their names were called. He turns to his _partner_ with a smile, scooping her off the ground to swing her around as she repeats “We did it!” in his ear. He sets her down, laughing when she launches herself into his arms to hug him again.

“I’m proud of you, Lola,” he tells her. “You were amazing.”

Lola smiles when she’s finally back on the ice. “I’m only going to say this once,” she says quietly enough that only he can hear, “but I couldn’t have done it without you.”

Scott can’t help but laugh at that, loud and delighted. And then Kaitlyn and Madi and Tyler and Mac are there congratulating them, and it’s wonderful, but there is one other person he would rather be celebrating with right now.

He doesn’t need to look hard for Tessa, though, because Kurt is making his way onto the ice, carrying the ridiculously large trophy, followed by all the figure skaters who had been on the show.

Kurt and the others join them at center ice, the cast and the entire audience applauding as he hands the trophy over to Lola. It’s a couple of seconds and then the ceiling is exploding in sparkling confetti and everyone is crowding around them as Kurt repeats. “Ladies and gentlemen, Lola Hayes.”

Lola looks absolutely delighted as she hoists the trophy above her head.

Scott smiles on, but he can’t help thinking, as Tessa slides to a stop next to him and gives his hand a gentle squeeze, that he’s won an even better prize.


End file.
